Overcoming The Odds
by crimsonblackjack2741
Summary: After Karin has been captured and interrogated she is thrown into prison and forgotten by the world. Naruto decides to keep her company, Karin decides to just go along with it. Neither of them expected to fall for each other. How will their love prevail through metal bars and cold concrete? A tale of forbidden love, and the sacrifices needed to break the curse of fate.
1. Intro

Our story begins deep in the forest surrounding Konoha.

With any given forest, it is commonly known that they are a relatively peaceful and comforting setting, and can be a great start for any kind of story.

However, this forest will prove to be anything but peaceful or comforting, because _this_ forest bears the burden of witnessing the beginning of a terrible tale of two lovers, who have been cursed by fate and shunned by the world.

And as you may shortly find out, the events soon to unfold will depict the unfair and utter ridiculous occurrences life may bring for two unfortunate people...


	2. Grim Encounters

**A/N: This story is slight AU. Pain never attacks Konoha and Jiraiya never dies. Takes place within Shippuden at no significant point.**

Sasuke and Naruto stood facing each other, with both having the signs of enduring a heavy and fierce battle. Sasuke had internal bleeding, the result of a direct flurry of punches to his stomach, and had blood dripping from his mouth. Naruto seemed to be the worse of the two, with an injury to the side of his stomach that bled down to his legs. A Chidori barely scraped him, and if he wasn't quick enough in dodging most of it he would have undoubtedly been impaled and killed.

The rogue shinobi spat blood on the floor. _"Damn you, troublesome fool."_ He thought while cursing his old teammate for getting in so many lucky shots on him. They glared at one another and waited for someone to initiate the battle once again, but see, they were both spent on energy and in no good conditions to continue the fight.

He became angry at his current situation; how did Naruto even find him in this forest? Thinking back on it, he remembered how his day went from unbearably annoying, to downright shitty.

 **An Hour Earlier...**

Sasuke and Karin were traveling the forest on a quest given by Orochimaru himself, their task being to find the prized experiment that escaped his facility. The snake would have sent any other duo to find the escapee, but when a person is capable of caving in the faces of numerous guards, _and_ escaping an elusive maze of a hideout, he chose to send his top henchmen to do his bidding.

Now here they are, looking for traces of where the experimented person may have gone, and with Karin's sensory abilities the trail lead them delving deeper into the forest that surrounded Konoha.

The trip was a long way from base, and the weeks that Sasuke and Karin traveled together proved to be full of bothersome experiences, as all throughout the day a never-ending and intrusive voice could be heard.

"Well can we at least do _something_ fun to celebrate once we get back?"

"No."

"Please?"

No response.

"Come on, pleeease?" She tugged on his arm.

"No."

"Well, why not?" She asked in a huff.

"Because you're annoying." He said while yanking his arm from her grasp.

She smiled to try and replace the hurt she felt. "Well... I think you should try and relax once in a while, I'm asking for _you_ y'know."

Sasuke ignored her and continued to walk throughout the forest. This was how most of their conversations went, with the occasional 'maybe' that he would say just to shut her up.

Karin fiddled with the buttons on her light-purple shirt while she thought of something else to bring up. "I think it's good to have fun once in a while." She said.

Sasuke stayed quiet, which prompted her to continue talking. "Just focusing on one thing has to get boring, don't you have hobbies?"

He didn't even bother to look at her.

"I have some" -she looked at him in the corner of her eye- "if you want to hear them."

Silence ensued.

She adjusted her glasses. "Ok. Well, I like walking in forests like this, it's better than staying underground all day, that's for sure... Sometimes I like to learn about the experiments Orochimaru makes... Oh! and I like to paint sometimes, did you know that?" She looked at him with a face full of eagerness, but in response he ignored her and simply kept on strolling through the forest.

Karin looked at the forest floor and continued her one-sided conversation. "Painting's nice, it takes me somewhere else when I'm stuck in that boring hideout." She blushed lightly at what she was about to offer. "And, if you want, I can show you them or make you one when we're done here. I know I'm pretty good at it, Suigetsu said I was, but what would that idiot know? He's always-"

"Do you _ever_ stop talking?" Sasuke interrupted in obvious annoyance. The unexpected yet simple remark caught her by surprise. She looked at him with a surprised face and didn't know what to say now, so she stayed quiet. She looked downcast at the moss-covered ground and felt dumb for thinking that he might have cared about something so trivial as what she did in her rare free time.

Her eyes went wide all of a sudden. She quickly looked up into the distant world of trees, then all around her, and let out a gasp. Hiding in every tree that surrounded them was a chakra signature, meaning her and Sasuke weren't alone in this forest and were most likely about to get ambushed by the hiding people.

"Shit! Sasuke the trees!" She said while taking out a kunai. He immediately unsheathed his sword and stood on high alert. "Where?" He asked while looking for whatever danger she may have been talking about. Karin got behind him. "Everywhere!" She said in shock. Surely she would have sensed an entire _army_ surrounding them much earlier than now, but it seemed as if it just popped out of nowhere.

 _"Damn."_ Sasuke thought as he searched for any trace of an enemy, but soon enough he was shocked to see a vast number of shadow clones spewing out from absolutely every tree that surrounded them. The clones charged at them but were ultimately mowed down by the duo. One by one Sasuke and Karin cut through the large number of clumsy clones, which resulted in many 'poofs' and made the area to become a mist of white smoke.

 _"Dammit, Why is **he** here?"_ Sasuke thought in annoyance as he finished off the last of them. Of all the things he expected, Naruto was certainly not one of them.

They stood back to back and waited for the smoke to clear. Karin felt the signature of a last remaining entity and pointed out its location. The smoke soon faded, and in the distance they could see a lone Konoha shinobi standing far away from them and glaring at Sasuke. He was in a fighting stance and wielded a kunai, showing he meant business. "Nice to see you again." The boy said sarcastically.

"Likewise," Sasuke replied with equal sarcasm. He glared back at him and cursed his luck. He had no interest in dealing with _this_ right now.

"Karin, hide in the trees. Don't bother with this one." He told her.

She gave him a look at how ridiculous he sounded. "What? Why?" She asked confused.

Sasuke continued to look at his old teammate. "You'll get in the way, just listen to me!"

Karin gave him one last look and glanced at the blonde haired boy before taking off into the trees, where she hid and stayed for the remainder of their battle.

 **Present...**

Karin sat perched on a tree while she observed Sasuke and the boy from earlier far away, and just witnessed an incredible battle full of amazing techniques and hand to hand combat. The two males were unmoving and quiet now, which served to make tensions rise at what would happen next.

 _"Should I help him?"_ She pondered upon seeing Sasuke's current state, and a worried expression made its way to her face. _"He said to stay away, but I can't while he's injured."_ She thought and ultimately concluded that her romantic interest needed her help. She leaped from the tree and made her way down to the forest floor by jumping to lower branches. From there she ran across the terrain and made her way to the battlegrounds, where every tree and piece of grass was either eradicated or damaged greatly, consequently making a big patch of destruction in the forest.

She ran up to her partner and immediately addressed the issue. "Sasuke you're hurt." She said while raising her arm up in an effort to get him to bite down on it. But contrary to her expectation he simply shoved her hand away and continued to glare at the boy who was holding up a kunai in defense. "What did I tell you before Karin? You're getting in the way." He said and unsheathed his sword while getting into a fighting stance once again.

Karin looked at him in concern and anger. "Don't be stupid Sasuke! You're hurt! You need..."

Just then she felt the signatures of two people and a creature coming in their direction quickly, and immediately voiced this information to the person beside her. "Two people are coming, a summon as well." She said hurriedly. "They're probably with him, I don't recognize their chakra."

Sasuke took his eyes off Naruto and looked at Karin. "A boy and a girl?" He asked, having a creeping suspicion who they might be. Karin focused and read their signatures closely, confirming what Sasuke thought. "Yeah." She said, a little confused as to how he guessed them right.

He sheathed his sword. He hadn't the strength or desire to fend off his old team and knew it had to be them coming in favor of the blonde haired shinobi, which spelled a bad time for him and Karin as they stood no match.

"Karin," Sasuke said. "We're leaving." He spat more blood on the ground then wiped his mouth.

"Don't you dare think about leaving you bastard!" Naruto yelled from across the battleground, having heard Sasuke's words with his enhanced hearing. "We're not finished yet." He said boldly and raised his kunai, but the wound he was clutching on his side made him look as if he was just talking out of his ass.

Sasuke sighed, his old teammate hadn't changed one bit. He glanced at Karin and faced the forest behind him. "Let's go." He said and took off into the trees, with Karin following closely behind him.


	3. The Chase

Naruto watched the two as they dashed into the trees and fled into the forest.

He stood there stunned and disbelieving at their cowardice, but soon enough he gripped his kunai harder and growled in absolute frustration. After all the training he put himself into, all the nights he spent pondering this _exact_ moment, and the promise he made to Sakura... After all the bullshit he endured to lead up to this moment, he was letting him escape and slip through his fingers?

 _"No, no way in hell."_ He thought on his last nerve. _"I am **not** letting you go so easily."_

He had his mind set and was just about to run after them, but suddenly two people landed behind him. He turned his head to see Kakashi and Sakura, along with the messenger toad he sent to notify them of Sasuke's appearance. They went up to him and their faces were visibly full of concern.

"What happened here? Are you okay?" Kakashi questioned him.

"Where is he?" Sakura asked.

The latter of the two questions greatly irritated him, but he decided to answer it anyway. "He ran away just now, if we hurry we can catch up to-"

"No." Kakashi butted in. "Let him go, we need to notify the Hokage of this immediately. Besides, you're injured."

Sakura looked at his bleeding injury in worry. "You're hurt badly." She said as she walked closer to him. He took a step back from her, and in a split second decision he turned around and ran into the direction Sasuke and Karin went.

Kakashi and Sakura yelled after him, but he was already gone inside the foliage of the forest. The messenger toad shook his head, then vanished in a poof of smoke.

 **Elsewhere**...

Karin and Sasuke dashed from branch to branch while they made their way to a safer and far away place. The rogue shinobi had yet to say a word to her, and the blood that he kept spitting out of his mouth worried her to no end.

"Sasuke, let's stop so I can heal you." She said while they leaped to another tree branch.

He could stand his injuries, and he decided that getting away from his old team was much more important than relieving his pain. "We need to get away first." He replied emotionless.

Karin felt someone coming after them in the midst of their getaway. She recognized the chakra signature from before and knew it was the boy whom Sasuke battled with.

"Dammit." She cursed under her breath. "Sasuke he's chasing after us!" She said in a panicked manner.

Sasuke looked at her and frowned in exasperation. _"When will this damn fool quit?"_ He thought as he glanced behind his back. "Where is he?" He asked her. She told him his location, revealing he was directly behind them and hot on their trail. He slowed down his movements and lagged behind Karin purposely with the intentions of unleashing a monster of a jutsu on their pursuer. He leaped one last time and landed on a tree branch, then he turned around to face the direction Naruto was coming in. He made the necessary hand signs and inhaled deeply. _"Great Fireball Jutsu."_ He said in his mind, then proceeded to exhale and unleash an immense sea of flames into the forest.

The flames spread wide and far, engulfing any and every tree that had the misfortune of being in its way. The now blazing forest creaked and groaned while Sasuke continued the jutsu, but eventually it ended and he was left standing there watching the flames. There was no possibility that Naruto had the reflexes to evade something so destructive and large.

Yet despite his sureness that the blonde was no more, he stayed put on the branch and looked on at the blazing and hungry inferno. For the life of him, he couldn't help but give in to a creeping suspicion that the boy somehow managed to avoided his jutsu, as Naruto was largely unpredictable and persistent in nature, making even the most convinced person double-take to see if he were dead.

And for a moment Sasuke was glad of his suspicion, as what he saw next would have made his day even worse if he ignored it.

A hail of shurikens and kunais came rushing out of the burning remains of the forest, and he barely had enough time to react to it. He made the hand signs again and quickly released another barrage of flames to counter the projectiles.

The sharp metal was buried in another sea of flames. Once he was finished, the weapons didn't even scratch him, having likely been melted by the large body of fire. However, despite the grand scale of his technique, many of the tools managed to slip through the traveling inferno, even avoid it completely...

Karin continued to travel through the forest while Sasuke lagged behind. Soon after he was out of her sight, she heard a roar of flames hit her ears. He must have used a fireball jutsu, she figured. She landed on a branch and looked back to where she knew Sasuke was, and sure enough, she could see him and a fire that flickered wildly in the distance. She continued to look to admire the dancing flames, but then shortly afterward she turned around to continue her trek to a safer place in the forest.

She heard another roar of fire behind her, and a hint of confusion made its way through her body. Shouldn't one fireball be good enough? Last time she saw Sasuke use the technique the flames were remarkably huge and more than enough to disintegrate a large number of enemies from far away. She didn't think much of it though, and continued to jump from branch to branch.

Karin leaped to another tree, and midway through her jump her senses were in overload and screaming at her to take into account the many blades that traveled her way. She gasped, and her eyes went wide as she sensed them coming straight for her, but she couldn't do anything about it while she was in the air. She tried desperately to turn herself around, but it was too late.

Kunais and shurikens burrowed into her back. She screamed at the sharp pain and sick feeling of many blades entering her, and saw that many other projectiles flew past her and thankfully didn't hit her.

She fell from the air, and she couldn't do anything besides attempt to brace herself for the fast approaching ground. She fell flat on her stomach with a loud 'thud', and immediately she was seeing stars. Her body took all of that impact, resulting in a great loss of breath and the inability to breathe for some time. She squirmed while opening her mouth several times in accordance to the pain and lack of air she now felt, and she dug her fingers into the ground to battle the terrible suffering she felt from the scorching hot blades that were dug into her back.

She stayed on the ground while she tried to get air into her lungs when all of a sudden she sensed a familiar figure enter the area. She immediately recognized it as Sasuke's.

He came quickly into her direction, and soon enough she caught eye of him. Karin's arm reached out to his fast fleeting form while she struggled to find her voice, as the fall she endured heavily knocked the wind out of her.

"...Sasuke..." She wheezed out in a high pitched whisper. "Please..." The boy in question firmly landed on a tree branch and looked back from the corner of his eye. Their gazes met, and in that brief moment, Karin remembered the time he had saved her in a forest much like this when they were younger. She looked him in the eyes and grew hopeful that the boy who once saved her would come to her rescue once again.

He gazed at her with indifference. Sasuke knew she was beyond saving, and he wondered if there was time to make her heal him before he went on his way.

In the distance the rapidly approaching group of shinobi could be heard dashing their way towards the two criminals, letting him know that his plan for a quick healing session was out of the question.

He continued to look at the girl who was helplessly injured on the forest floor. He made a noise of disapproval, then he uttered the first thing that came to his mind.

"Useless."

He turned his head around and quickly made his way across the many tree branches of the forest, soon disappearing completely from view by the countless number of leaves.

Karin retracted her arm and a shocked, disbelieving expression made its way to her features. She couldn't believe it...

He left her behind.


	4. Left Behind

She wanted to shout at him for his foolishness. She wanted her damn legs to work so she could get up and run away. She wanted desperately to catch up to him, then beat the everlasting shit out of him for having the audacity of doing something so despicable. She wanted many things in that moment, however the tears that steadily fell from her eyes was one thing that was certainly unaccounted for.

Konoha shinobi were just a couple trees away now, and she was sure they would capture or kill her soon. She tried in vain to stifle her growing fear, and desperately crawled her way to a bush where she could attempt to hide.

 _"That bastard!"_ She cursed him internally. _"_ _Damn_ _coward, how_ ** _dare_** _you do this to me!"_ She pulled herself along the forest floor and heard the audible dashes of her enemies drawing near. She moved faster.

 _"I thought he needed me_..." His last departing word rang through her head, and greatly conflicted the standing emotions she still felt for the rogue shinobi. Her chest was filled with pain at the heartache, and the blades lodged deep within her back were momentarily forgotten. _"I thought-"_

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone landing in the vicinity. She immediately ceased her crawling and stayed quiet. She turned her head to see the person, and found that it was the same boy from earlier who battled with Sasuke. His clothes were torn and blackened by flames. He was bent forward slightly with a hand clutching his side and breathing in shakily. He continued to bleed from his clutched side, and after some shaky breaths he turned his gaze to see a red-haired girl with weapons sticking out of her back and tears smearing her face.

He continued to breath hard while they looked at each other, but soon enough he flashed a pained grin. He faced the girl fully and looked at her with accomplishment. "Gotcha." He said triumphantly and in resolve.

Just then another person landed in the area. This time it was the girl who she sensed was coming from earlier.

The girl walked up to the boy quickly, then when she was close enough she immediately punched him in the head. The force of the punch sent the already weakened male to the floor, where he groaned and complained.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Sakura?!" He yelled in frustration while holding the part she so rudely hit. She went beside him and looked down at him with her fists clenched at her sides. "For not listening you idiot!" She exclaimed. "Kakashi and I told you not to chase after him!" She got on her knees and proceeded to apply pressure on his injured side, which made the boy wince and hiss at the foreign touch. Soon her hands were radiating a light green color.

 _"A medic."_ Karin dully noted, still fazed by what happened just a minute prior.

Naruto relaxed at feeling some of the pain leave him. "Thanks." He said.

Sakura seemed to ignore him. "How could you be so stupid? Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?" She asked in a concerned yet berating tone.

He looked saddened by her words, and a small moment passed until he spoke. "Sorry... I wasn't strong enough this time."

Sakura looked down at his injury in guilt. "Shut up so I can focus."

All this happened while Karin lay there. She didn't bother to move or run away, mainly because she knew that they would easily restrain her, but it was also because she lacked any motivation whatsoever to save herself by now.

A third and last figure landed in the area. By his clothing, Karin could immediately identify him as a jounin, and figured that these people most likely formed a team. More importantly, Sasuke's old team.

Kakashi jogged over to them. "Is he okay?" He asked.

Sakura continued to stare at the wound. "Yeah, but he does need some work." She raised her head and looked him in the eyes with a stern expression. "Don't ever do something that stupid again."

The man made a noise of agreement. "I agree. Not only was that foolish, but you went against my orders." He said and crossed his arms. "A punishment is only suitable."

Naruto groaned and put an arm over his eyes. "Give me a break, I just wanted to teach that bastard a lesson."

Sakura scoffed. "With an injury like this?"

Naruto just waved her off. "I've had worse." He replied.

Kakashi turned his attention to the elephant in the room and looked at the red-haired girl from the corner of his eye. "Now that we know you're safe," he said, "it'd be most appropriate to take care of... Other business." He faced Karin, who had been silently watching the group the entire time. "Have you taken notice of _her_?" He asked them.

"Yes," Sakura replied simply and without taking her eyes off her patient.

Kakashi brought a kunai out from his back pocket. He walked towards the girl, then when he got halfway to her he stopped. "Can you hear me?" He asked her. Karin, who had been watching him, simply nodded her head once. "Can you move?" He asked. She lifted her head up a little and cleared her throat. "N-no." She replied in a weak and tired voice.

"Good." Kakashi stated simply. "Let's keep it that way." He started walking towards her again. "I have to give you credit Naruto, you pulled off something good today."

Naruto, who was dosing off from fatigue and Sakura's touch, awoke at his sensei's words and remembered the girl he had immobilized earlier. He turned his head to look at her.

Kakashi reached the girl, and with his kunai still drawn he loomed over her. "One move and I'll cut your throat open." He threatened. Karin had no intentions of that happening, so she stayed quiet and didn't dare to try anything stupid. Kakashi bent down, then grabbed one hand at a time and put them behind her back, a process that made her whimper in pain as her back muscles moved in motion with her arms. She was only thankful that he managed to avoid hitting any of the blades.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little remorse at her pain, but he knew he did the right thing; she was an enemy, and now they could interrogate her and suck out any information she had on Sasuke.

Kakashi put his kunai away and took out a length of small rope from one of the pockets in his jounin vest. He bound her hands with the rope and created a knot nearly impossible for her to break in her current state, then he stood up. "Once you finish with him," he said to Sakura, "you need to take a look at her. We can't have her bleeding out before we even make it back."

"I can do it now." She said as she stopped her healing abilities. She stood and walked her way to the girl.

Naruto propped himself up on his elbow and admired the work Sakura did. A small part of his side was missing just minutes ago, and now it looked completely fine. It amazed him to no end.

Once Sakura reached her new patient she got on her knees and readied to remove the numerous blades that impaled her back. "This might sting a little." She said to Karin, who bit down on her lip and closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain.


	5. Captured

With Karin all healed and ready to take back to the village for questioning, the group traveled the main road to make their way back to Konoha.

She was at the very front of the group and was being escorted by Kakashi who held the knot that tied her hands together.

As she walked, thoughts about her situation flooded her head. The whole day felt strange for her; one moment she was happily talking to the boy who held all her affection, and the next thing she knew that very same person abandoned her and left her for dead. It all felt surreal, she would have never thought that something like this would have happened to her, but now that it has she could only wonder where she went wrong. She continued to look downcast at the dirt road while they walked, and feelings of sadness and heartbreak made their way to her chest at remembering Sasuke's selfish actions.

Naruto kept glancing at Karin throughout the day. He saw the obvious sadness that she displayed throughout their trip back home and felt hints of guilt at his unintentional yet necessary accomplishment.

There was something about her that drew him closer whenever he looked at her, something he couldn't quite place about her. He stared at her, and as he did this he felt growing vibrations deep within his body and could see visions of the demon inside of him banging itself against the gates of its prison. Why was the demon getting so riled up?

He continued to stare at her while the vibrations and banging became bigger and louder, so loud it blocked any outside noise from entering his ears. The demon continued to bang itself against the jail that housed him, and Naruto found himself in a trance that he couldn't seem to break. Kyuubi continued his actions, and he realized the beast within him was trying to tell him something... What was it trying to say? The banging became immensely loud now, and for some reason, he felt an unbearable sadness overtake him.

"Naruto!"

And as quickly as the trance took him he was set free suddenly and unexpectedly.

Naruto looked to his left quickly where he heard the voice, and saw Sakura and Kakashi staring at him with utter confusion.

He looked at them with a confused face as well, as if they could provide an explanation for what he just experienced. He realized the group stopped walking as well, and he glanced at Karin and was relieved to see that she still looked down at the road and not at his staring face.

"What happened? I've been calling you for a while now." Sakura said with a voice full of worry. "Are you feeling okay?" She reached for him and placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

Naruto became irritated and removed her hand. "I'm fine." He said with a biting attitude. "I just... had a daydream." He then proceeded to wipe the tears that gathered at the corner of his eyes.

Kakashi exhaled, not really sure of what to make of his student's weird behavior. He turned around and lightly shoved Karin to make her start walking again.

"Are you gonna answer my question?" Sakura asked.

He looked at her weird. "You asked me something?" He said genuinely unaware.

"I did, but you were spaced out or whatever. How did you find them?" She repeated her question. "You never said how you managed to track them down or anything."

Naruto looked down at the road and answered the best way that he could. "I dunno... I just sort of did." He answered. "I was practicing taijutsu at our training grounds..." He thought for a second. "Then I wandered the forest for a bit and I heard people talking, I went to them and seen that it was Sasuke and that girl." He said in a somewhat disbelieving and odd tone... As if he couldn't believe how unrealistic it sounded to even himself. "Then I attacked them with shadow clones, then me and Sasuke fought for a while."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look. "Yeah, but... Come on, finding Sasuke randomly in the forest?" She looked at him with a confused face. "How does that even happen?"

Naruto continued to look at the road in thought. "Just one of those weird things that happen I guess" He replied.

"Yeah... I guess." Sakura said, but she was still skeptical about his story.

Truthfully, he had no logical explanation for how he was able to find Sasuke and Karin. All he knew was that in the midst of his training he felt something draw him into the forest, a feeling he could only describe as what he felt just seconds ago when he looked at Karin. At first, he disregarded it as something meaningless, so he continued on with his training, but that same feeling gnawed away at him and beckoned him to come closer. So, eventually he gave into it and made his way to the deeper parts of the forest where he happened to find them.

He thought that maybe some sort of link between him and Sasuke may have caused this experience, but that was just a far-fetched and absurd speculation.

 **1 Hour Later...**

The group finally made it the village after an hour of walking along the dirt road, and a small distance away from them they could see the village gates. They walked closer to the gates, where two guards stood conversing amongst each other about anything to pass the time. The guards saw the group approaching them and stopped their conversation, and once they saw a captive in their possession their eyes widened with surprise. One of the guards jogged over to the group, where he proceeded to greet them.

"Good to see you guys again." Said the male guard. He turned his attention to the restrained girl. "This one's been captured I assume?" He asked.

"Yup," Kakashi replied. "Do me a favor and take her to the interrogation department." He requested. "I have to pay a visit to the Hokage."

"Of course." He agreed. Kakashi let go of Karin and then shoved her forward towards the guard. She glanced back at Kakashi with an angry look and was taken hold of by the man, who turned her to face the entrance of the gate and then escorted her into the village.

"Alright," Kakashi said in farewell while looking at his students. "Nicely done Naruto. You can forget about that punishment." He made a hand sign and ultimately vanished from sight while leaving nothing behind but a small trail of leaves.

Now only two people were left standing at the outside of the gates. Sakura looked at Naruto and was surprised to see that he still stared down at the ground with his eyebrows slightly furrowed in thought. "Hey." She said to get his attention. He looked up from the dirt and faced her with a questioning look.

She sighed. "What's up with you? Ever since we found you in that forest you've been acting all strange." She folded her arms. "Are you _sure_ you're feeling okay?"

Naruto rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine, just tired is all." He put his hands in his pockets and started to walk inside the village. "And the whole thing with Sasuke... I'm just trying to make sense of it."

Sakura stood there while she looked at him entering the village, the first thing she noticed was his damaged and torn clothing that he still had on.

 **Elsewhere...**

The guard was currently navigating Karin through the crowds of the streets. They passed through many people that went about their everyday business, and she felt as if she were the center of the village, as everyone they passed either stared or glared at her in a way that made her feel extremely self-conscious and unwanted. It felt terrible the way they all stared at her, as if she had done some horrible and unspeakable thing.

After passing food vendors and a few more streets they turned to a road that was less populated. They continued further down and passed numerous other buildings, however, soon they stopped. Karin looked up at the front of the building, and could see she was exactly where she was supposed to be; clearly labeled on the building was 'Torture and Interrogation'.

Her heart beat erratically and her stomach flipped at the realization of what may ensue inside this place. They walked to the entrance, and soon enough they entered the inside of the building...

Karin was immediately thrown into a room on her arrival to the building and was bound to a chair by her wrists and legs. An interrogator had yet to show up for the time she was just sitting there, but it wasn't like she was wishing for one to come any time soon. In fact, she wished the exact opposite of that.

 _"How did it ever come to this..."_ She thought to herself as she looked at her restraints. _"What did I do wrong?"_ A boy with black hair and matching eyes flashed into her mind, and it surprised her that she didn't blush or swoon over the image. Instead, she found rage replace the feelings she once felt for over his emotionless face. _"After all I've done for that bastard... **That's** how he repays me?"_ She gripped the arms of her chair in anger. _"He leaves me to be captured, or worse, dead?"_

Despite her anger, she couldn't stop the lone tear that fell from an eye. It felt horrible to know that all her attempts to woo Sasuke went unnoticed and over his head. Her actions were in vain and were met with cruelty and betrayal, things she most certainly didn't hope for while she was busy trying to earn his affection. She felt played and stupid, and felt as if she should have seen this coming a long time ago. These feelings, mixed in with the unfairness of it all, conjured up a growing resolve deep within her.

 _"Fuck that bastard."_ She thought enraged. _"Fuck everything, what do I owe anyone, especially him? No one's ever done shit for me."_

She made up her mind. At first, she debated whether she should keep quiet about anything pertaining to Sasuke or Orochimaru, but now she couldn't care less about them. If snitching was what it would take to get back at the people who wronged her, then she would be a fool to miss her only chance at vengeance.

 **15 Minutes Later...**

A man with a trench coat and scars on his face came into the dimly lit room. Karin looked up in surprise at his sudden entry and seen that he came equipped with a folder and a book in his hands. The door behind him closed and an audible locking sound could be heard while he walked his way to the table. He dropped the folder onto the table and sat down in the chair opposite of her.

He looked at her for a small moment, and she looked right back, then he brought the book onto the table and flipped through numerous pages. Karin immediately identified it as one of many bingo books issued to shinobi and kunoichi. The man with scars stopped flipping when he came onto a certain page. There on one of the pages was a picture of her along with data on her crimes and abilities. She looked at the text that went under her picture and was shocked at how a lot of it was true and detailed... How did they get their hands on this information in the first place? She could only wonder.

The man with scars on his face moved the book slightly forward towards her. "Is this you?" He asked.

Karin was in no mood to comment on such a stupid question-it obviously was her-so she opted to reply sufficiently. "Yes." She replied.

He brought the book back to him. "Good." He said. "Now we can begin." He stood up and towered over her, so much so he blocked out the light from the small room, then he placed his hands on the table. "Now tell me about that traitorous snake you work for and your affiliates. You can make this much harder if you want, I'll take great pleasure in breaking every one of your bones and feeding you shit 'till you beg for mercy." He said menacingly.

Karin shuddered at his last method of torture. "I plan on doing a full confession." She stated.

The scarred man stood unmoving for some time, but deep inside he was shocked to hear what she said. He couldn't remember the last time someone flat out confessed, every criminal he dealt with either wouldn't talk or would just outright insult and spit on him. He wasn't complaining though, a confession would make his day much easier.

He exhaled deeply, then he sat back down and picked up a pencil. He brought the folder closer to him and opened it to take out the paper that was inside. "Alright," he said and looked at her. "Where do we begin?"

Karin looked down at the table, and a mad, vengeful look came onto her features. "The Uchiha that escaped your village..."


	6. Welcome to Prison

After Karin revealed everything she knew about Sasuke and Orochimaru, his hideouts, experiments, forbidden scrolls and techniques, plans for the future, _everything_ she knew, she was released and escorted through the village by two jounin. By now it was dark outside with few people out on the streets, so her journey to the Konoha prison was met with no stares or scowls this time.

Once inside, she was forced to ditch her old clothes and put on a black prison jumpsuit, and she was given an extra pair of the same black clothing as well including two pairs of socks. After that they did the essentials for instating a new prisoner, meaning her picture was taken and she was given an identification number.

With the necessities all done, Karin was guided through a long stairwell that went underground. After traveling down the stairwell they entered a small room that had nothing but a metal door. One of the jounin that accompanied her placed his thumb on a seal that was on the door, and shortly afterward the door made a clicking noise and was ultimately unlocked. They passed through the door, and now a complex maze of corridors and passageways came into view. Any wrong turn could make someone get lost if they didn't know the layout of the place.

As she was guided through the halls of the underground prison, she looked at the grim atmosphere that surrounded her: dark stone walls, dimly lit hallways, people screaming... Mixed in with the uncertainty, it all served to make her more nervous and scared. She didn't even know how long she was going to stay there, no one told her anything about that yet.

She noticed they had walked far enough to get away from the screaming, and she was thankful that she wasn't getting placed anywhere near those yelling madmen. Instead, they walked further into the labyrinth and came unto a more quiet setting, so quiet the only things she could hear were the jounins' sandals and the pitter-patter of her bare feet hitting the cold stone floor. They turned one last time and were met with a more clean looking hallway with better lighting and metal doors along each of the walls.

Karin was taken to the end of the hall and arrived at the last metal door, where one of the jounin then proceeded to open it by once again placing his thumb on a seal that was fixed to the door. A series of loud groans and mechanical ticks that came from the door made her jump in surprise. It was now unlocked, and so one jounin opened it to reveal her new home.

She stepped inside, and could see that it was unlike the cells that she saw earlier; this cell was closed off by a metal door and was in a small room. It was strange to see, as it was a cell within a room, something she's never seen before. The two men shoved her inside the room and followed after her. Once they were inside, one jounin went up to the metal bars and again placed his thumb on a seal resulting in the cell's door clicking open. He opened it for her to go through, then the other male brought her inside.

The man brought a kunai out from his holster and cut the rope that restrained her. He pocketed the cut remains, then he walked out of the cell and closed the door and proceeded to press his thumb against the seal, locking the cell door. He turned towards his partner. "I take it you'll do the rest?" He asked. His partner nodded once, which made the man walk towards the entrance of the room and promptly leave.

"Ok, listen here." The lone man spoke in an authoritative voice. Karin looked at him. "Regarding food: breakfast and dinner is served every day. Regarding hygiene: toilet paper and soap is brought by a guard every 3 weeks. There is a sink over there so at least clean yourself, you better not even think of stinking up the damn place, we have enough filth and stench problems as it is." He pointed at the clock that hung directly over the room's entrance. "Sink water is on from 1 PM to 7 PM. Someone will come every week to take and wash _one_ pair of clothing. Your toothbrush is replaced every 6 months. Lights turn on at 7 AM and turn off at 11 PM. Oh, and anybody who visits you will be closely monitored, so don't even get any bright ideas."

The man made his way to the room's exit. Karin saw this and immediately called for his attention. "W-wait!" She said as she went up to the bars. The man turned around and looked at her confused. "How long am I staying here for? No one's told me anything yet."

He dawned a surprised face, then he reached into his pocket and brought out a simple looking scroll. "Damn, how do I always forget about that?" She heard him mutter. He threw the scroll through the bars and it landed somewhere on the floor. He reached into his pocket once more and brought out a feather as well as an enclosed inkwell. He walked up to the metal bars and hinted at her to take the items, which she did.

"You will write to your home village if you are a missing or rogue-nin, and plead your case to have a trial there if desired. If you aren't a missing-nin or rogue-nin... Then too bad I guess. This is your only chance to be taken home in the event of you not wanting your trial here." He started walking away from her. "Once you've written your request just give it any guard who comes in here."

Karin looked at him with a worried expression. The scroll didn't help her at all, and he didn't even answer her question. What was the point of even doing something like that anyway?

The guard left the room and closed the heavy metal door. After it closed, she heard the same groaning and clicks from before and knew it must have locked into place.

She looked around her cell and noticed a ringing in her ears. It had gone gravely silent.

She stood there in the cell. Nothing but stillness and quiet met her ears, and it had yet to click in her mind that this type of atmosphere was where she would be staying for who knows how long. The ringing was driving her mad, and she hadn't even been there for 5 minutes!

She walked to the small bed and sat down on it. "What do I do now?" She asked herself out loud to battle the quietness, and in the back of her mind, a voice told her the obvious truth of her situation: there was nothing she could do. This was her life now, nothing but gross food, cold air, and terrible ringing in her ears. Her bottom lip trembled at the sad thought, and the tears that soon fell from her ruby red eyes were met with no protests.

She laid down on her bed and threw the covers over her body, then rest her head on the pillow they were kind enough to give. Her tears and breathing increased abnormally, which spawned a series of hiccups that she couldn't seem to control. She cried for as long as she could until fatigue got the best of her, where only then could she rest peacefully and embrace the solace found in her dreams.

 **Elsewhere...**

Naruto lay on his bed wearing nothing but a white T-shirt and boxers on. He had yet to fall asleep, as thoughts about his day bugged him to no end. That girl was all he could think about ever since the ordeal, and it worried him how much he spent thinking about her.

He surely felt sorry for her and knew she was in an undesired position, yet he couldn't shake this weird feeling from him. It was the exact same feeling from before when he was training and when he was staring at her.

This feeling... He couldn't even describe it other than a 'feeling'. It asked, no, TOLD him to go to her, and for some strange reason he wanted to desperately give into the command.

He pulled at his hair and groaned, knowing full well that seeing her would be weird and stupid, and that she would want no business with him... But that weird feeling told him otherwise.

He began to get irritated; he needed his sleep and he was tired after this crazy day. He grabbed the blanket that was at his feet and covered himself with it and got comfortable. He closed his eyes and made a mental note that he would look for her tomorrow, oddly enough the feeling went away and he was able to quickly drift off into much-needed sleep. He slipped into a dream about his wildest fantasies, and you could bet there was ramen somewhere mixed in there.

 **A/N: Boring I know, but the stage must be set and it gets more interesting.**


	7. A Friend?

**The Next Day**

Karin sat on her bed while tapping her foot on the cold concrete floor. She woke up at 8 am... It was around noon now, and she had yet to find something productive or meaningful to do in her cell. There was absolutely nothing she could do, and the outrageously quiet atmosphere only enhanced the suffering she felt from extreme boredom.

The only thing she could do in hopes to pass the time was sleep, but she's had plenty of that, and so she aimlessly thought of anything and everything to get her mind off her unbearable reality.

The silence that surrounded her fueled a desperate and needy fix for _anything_ eventful or mundane to happen, and she found herself thinking on more than one occasion that maybe some loud and screaming men wouldn't be so bad right now.

The sudden and loud noise of the room's metal door being unlocked made her jump in surprise. She looked at the door and instant relief filled her being. _"Oh thank god!"_ She screamed in her head at this opportunity to not be so bored. The door slowly crept open and out of the doorway stepped out a person she certainly did not expect.

It was the blonde boy from yesterday.

"You?!" She unleashed in utter confusion and surprise. Of all the people it could have been... What was _he_ doing here?

Naruto accepted her shocked look and didn't expect anything less. "Hey." He greeted simply. The metal door closed behind him and shortly afterward the sound of it being locked into place met both their ears.

Karin was absolutely dumbfounded. She stared at him with a shocked expression, but soon anger and contempt made its way to the surface. She glared at him. "What do you think you're doing here?" She asked as if he was some uninvited and hated guest, which he was.

Naruto simply smiled at her scorn. "I just came to visit you." He replied.

A memory flashed through Karin's head. Back in the forest where she was captured, she remembered this same boy's triumphant smile and his victorious declaration of 'gotcha'.

She grew angry, and it was evident in her facial features. _"Gotcha? Gotcha?! This asshole put me here, and then he has the nerve to see me like this!"_

Karin wore a vicious look. "Well isn't that sweet." She said full of sarcasm. "The bastard who put me in this cell came to visit me." She stood up from her position on the bed. "You have some nerve to taunt me like this, do me a favor and just leave."

Naruto wasn't phased one bit by her malicious looks or words. "Aren't you bored in here?" He asked while walking a bit closer to the cell.

Karin was set back by his question, however, he was absolutely right. "What do _you_ think?" She asked with sarcasm while adjusting her glasses. "Wouldn't you be bored if you had to stay in some boring ass place?"

"Well yeah," he replied, "that's why I thought I'd be nice, and..." He rubbed the back of his head in thought. "I dunno, talk through our differences?" He said in a way that asked mostly himself. He honestly didn't know why he was here, other than that he felt like he needed to be.

Karin scoffed. "You've done enough _nice_ things for me already." She said while folding her arms. "You're obviously here for a different reason."

"Really, I'm not." He told her. "What would I get from you anyway?"

Karin's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't give off any vibes that indicated mischievous intentions, nor did he seem like the type of person to want to taunt her. Still, she couldn't afford to let him get what he wanted.

"Well then why did you come here?" She asked, not quite sure how to respond.

Naruto smiled at her. "I told you, remember? I figured maybe you were bored-I'm kinda bored too-and I was in the neighborhood, so I just thought..." He scratched the back of his head. "I dunno, maybe..."

He was trailing off now. He sighed in exasperation and didn't really know where he was going with this. He put his arm down and looked her in the eyes more seriously. "Look." He said. "I know we might have gotten off at a wrong start, but I know what you're going through."

Karin was surprised by his quick change of demeanor.

"I know you must feel lonely and scared... Right?" He asked. She looked at him through the cell and her glaring face faltered. He couldn't have been more right. Truly she was utterly lonely and hopeless in this prison, and on more than one occasion did she wish her life was back to how it was just a few days or weeks ago. Her malicious look ultimately fell and she brought her gaze to the concrete floor.

 _"He's right."_ She thought. _"I don't think I've ever felt so lonely before."_

"And," Naruto continued, "I know it might be boring to not have a friend around, especially somewhere like this, so, you know, I just thought that maybe you could use a friend... Or just maybe someone to talk to."

Karin looked at him with a face full of yearning. His offer was tempting and greatly needed during this time. She found herself wanting to give into this opportunity, yet she thought ill of herself for considering such a thing. They were enemies, and they should act their parts as such.

 _"He put you here, remember?"_ She told herself. _"He put you here, and now you're stuck here for... For forever probably."_ She once again felt the anger rise in her, and any sort of yearning she felt was gone now.

"I don't need you, I don't need anyone!" She raised her voice. "You come here saying shit like wanting to be 'friends', well just how stupid are you? You're the one who put me in this damn hell, and now I'll never live my life because of you!"

Naruto just stood there and observed her. She was furious, and it was obvious from what he saw on her face and heard in her voice. He looked at her sympathetically and knew that she didn't mean what she said, if her faltering face from earlier was any indication.

Karin sat back down on her bed. "Just leave, you're not wanted here, and you sure as hell aren't welcome either." She laid down and put the sheet over her in a huff, then she turned her body so she could face the wall that was right beside the bed.

Naruto felt a little down that she wasn't willing to open up yet. _"Maybe she just needs time to cool down."_ He thought. After all, it was only a day after she was captured, doing things this early was obviously bound to bring angered thoughts and bitter feelings from the girl.

So he listened to her. He turned around and walked to the small room's metal door, then proceeded to knock on it. A moment passed before he heard the clicks and groans of it being unlocked. He opened it fully, but before he left he glanced back one last time at the red-haired girl to see that she still faced the metal wall. He turned around and left the room, and the jounin who unlocked it closed it after him.

She heard the sound of the metal door locking into place, and she couldn't help the empty feeling that flooded her senses once again...

 **4 Days Later**

Karin had spent a number of 4 days in her new home, and no amount of preparation would have helped her for what she experienced in that room.

The still and quiet atmosphere of her cell was what she could only best describe as a new form of hell. The torment she felt from the isolation and constant ringing in her ears made it increasingly hard to see another day. Anything would be better than this; be it screaming madmen, being back with Orochimaru, and dare she say it... She even wished the blonde haired idiot who captured her would come back.

She felt so stupid for turning him down, and no matter how much she hated it, she wished the guy would reconsider her harsh words and come back one last time.

And imagine her surprise when he actually did...

Karin sat on her bed while playing with the scroll she received from one of the jounin. She folded and unfolded it repeatedly in a desperate attempt to make noise and keep her 'entertained', but despite her efforts nothing she did could fend off the growing feeling of absolute boredom and the headaches that she could never seem to get rid of.

She stopped playing with the scroll and gripped it incredibly hard with both of her hands in frustration, then in a split second she snapped and threw the item across the room and against the wall opposite of her.

"FUCK!" She screamed and gripped her head tightly in her hands while squeezing her ears, she couldn't take the silence anymore. "God, make it stop!" She yelled on the verge of tears.

She laid down on her bed and pressed a pillow over her head, hoping that sleep would help her to escape this horrible reality.

Then suddenly she heard the sound of the metal door being unlocked. She threw the pillow away from her and she sat up on her bed. She felt like crying from happiness that her prayer was seemingly answered. She looked at the door and didn't care at all who came through it, be it Orochimaru himself. All she needed was someone to help her get out if this hell.

The door opened and in stepped the boy who had tried to talk to her a few days ago. She never thought she'd be so happy to see him again, and she couldn't afford to let her pride get in the way this time. She stayed put on the bed while she continued to look at him, and she found that her feelings of malice and anger towards this person were replaced with an urgency to get on their good side. It astounded her how the effects of isolation could drastically change a person in such a little amount of time.

The metal door closed behind him and soon made a series of noises meaning it was now locked, then that was when he started talking.

"Bored yet?" Naruto asked simply.

Karin resisted any urge to say something stupid, lest she lose the opportunity to fend off the boredom. She sighed. "Yes." She answered with a defeated tone.

He smiled at her. "Good, you're not yelling at me or saying mean things again, so that's a start." He walked closer to the cell bars. "So does that mean you're ready to be nice?" He asked.

She exhaled from her position on the bed and then proceeded to shake her head in confirmation.

He seemed to be happy with that. "I don't think we've ever introduced ourselves."

"Because we haven't," Karin replied simply.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Right," he said while grinning. "How rude of me." He dropped his arm and walked even closer to the metal bars. He extended his right arm and put it through one of the openings of the cell, which she immediately and obviously identified it as him wanting her to shake his hand.

She really had no choice now. She stood from her bed and walked towards his awaiting hand. He looked at her through the bars and she alternated from glancing at him and his extended arm. "My name's Naruto. " He replied in a friendly manner. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Her eyes widened slightly at his last name, and she was stunned to hear that this boy was a descendant of the same clan as her. _"No way..."_ She thought disbelievingly. Of all the people it could have been, one of her very own was right before her? It made no sense to her, and she had a hard time believing it. _"I never knew there was more to my clan, how on earth does he relate to an Uzumaki?"_ She questioned herself.

She shook herself from her thoughts and looked at his still extended hand. With her pride forgotten and the memories of this boy's actions buried, she took his hand into her own and firmly shook it. "Karin." She stated.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Karin...?" He asked hinting at her last name.

She let go of the handshake. "Just Karin." She said. She had no intentions of telling him that they were clan mates, he could find that out easily by looking at her red hair anyway if he wanted to. Besides, that would make for a weird conversation.

Naruto retracted his arm from the cell and smiled at her. "Fair enough." He stated in a happy manner and then sat down on the floor. He looked at her with a face that told her to do the same, so she reluctantly followed suit and joined him on the cold concrete.

"I thought you might not talk so much, so I brought these." He stated while reaching into his pocket and fishing out a deck of cards.

"How did you get those in here?" She asked incredulously. Surely the guards would have confiscated them.

He smiled at her. "I just brought them with me when I came. The guards took them away from me, but then they just brought it back and said it was fine." He brought the deck out of the small box, and his eyebrows furrowed upon seeing the loss of durability on many of the cards. "T-these were brand new!" He exclaimed. "They could have been a little easier when they checked them out, jeez." He muttered to himself in an irritated manner.

She couldn't help but smile in slight amusement. His cards did look worse for wear, and definitely seen better days.

"Oh well," he continued. "They're still good to play with."

Karin looked at the deck. "I don't know how to play cards." She said in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

"Nonsense! We can start out with something easy. Ever heard of go fish?"


	8. Time Skip

**4 Months Later**

4 Months have passed since their first day spent together, and each passing day brought a stronger bond the two would never have anticipated.

Every chance Naruto got he would meet with the redheaded girl and spend a portion of his time with her. They did whatever they wanted: talk about their past, their future, their teams, foods they like, books they've read, jutsus, Orochimaru's experiments, fears, likes, dislikes... Nothing was off limits to the two who managed to get over their differences.

This boy was her best and only friend, and it terrified her to no end imagining her current state without him. She would surely have gone mad by now.

Naruto felt the same, Karin was his best friend now. Gone was the pink haired girl he used to consider, now replaced with someone who actually enjoyed his companionship and presence and didn't hit or scold him like she did. And, after much persuasion from Karin, he realized his interest in Sakura wasn't a good one.

" _No matter how hard you try to earn her interest, she won't consider you. All she sees is Sasuke. Trust me, I used to be the exact same way with that piece of shit_." Naruto recalled her words.

He was brought out of his thoughts and back to reality when he received a pinch on the arm from the girl in front of him. He looked at her inquisitively. "What?"

"I said why haven't I seen you around lately? It feels like it's been forever since I've seen you." Karin said to him with concern on her face.

Naruto gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I had a mission remember? Things just get in the way sometimes y'know?"

She smiled in return and played with her hair. "Yeah... I know. I get it. Sometimes you get busy."

He was busy, that was the truth. However, _what_ he was busy with served to conjure up a great deal of distress inside of him.

He found himself daydreaming again, and he thought back to the troubling event that transpired just hours ago in a dumpling restaurant.

 **Earlier...**

Sakura couldn't remember the last time she and Naruto went out to eat together, or the last time he complimented her, or since he's asked her out. In short, It's been a while since she and he basically did anything together. He just sort of dropped any and all attempts to woo her, and it bugged her to no end for a reason she couldn't really explain. As a result of his weird and sudden behavior, she needed answers from the boy himself for why he was acting so strange. So, she hatched a plan. **  
**

While he was on his way home after their week-long mission, Sakura came out of nowhere and snatched Naruto by the hand and dragged him through town despite his confused protests.

Naruto had no idea what she wanted or why she was doing this, but he sure was irritated that she interrupted his plans to go to the prison to see his friend after a long departure.

She pulled him along the crowded streets and numerous vendors and stalls, but eventually they came across a dumpling place where Sakura abruptly stopped the both of them.

"Here it is," Sakura said, then she pushed through the doors with her captive in tow.

"Why are we here again?" Naruto asked in confusion while scratching his head.

There were numerous other people in the restaurant, many going about their business with other friends or colleagues. Sakura brought them to a rectangular wooden table where she proceeded to let go of him and sit down. "To catch up on our lives and whatnot. When was the last time we went out just to have fun or talk to each other?" She asked as she looked at him.

Naruto sat down on a chair opposite of her so that they faced each other. "I dunno, I guess it's been a while." He admitted while smiling.

Sakura smiled back at him. "Well, then this will come in handy for catching up again."

Just then a girl with an apron approached them and placed two glasses of water in front of them. "Ready to order?" She asked politely.

Sakura looked at the waitress. "Yes, two of the specials please." She answered. The lady scribbled onto a small notepad quickly. "Sure thing," she replied. "I'll come back with your food in a little." The lady went on her way and left the two together.

She tapped on the side of her glass of water. "So what have you been up to lately?" Sakura asked him.

Naruto immediately thought back to the girl behind the metal bars.

"Well, we just went on that mission..." He said, not daring to reveal to her his closely kept secret.

She rolled her eyes. "I know that dummy, I meant besides the missions we go on. What have you been up to?"

Now he was in a bit of trouble. He rarely did anything besides train once in a while and spend his time in the prison. "Well, besides our missions... I've been reading up on books about laws and stuff." He quickly formulated a lie. "Yup, granny says If I want to be Hokage someday I gotta be smart with all that junk."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look. There was no way in hell Naruto would ever be reading any books about laws. "Uhm, sure," she said disbelievingly. "Books... That doesn't really explain why you've been avoiding me though." She accused.

"What?" Naruto questioned in shock.

"Oh come on." She said with a look and tone that made him look stupid. "When's the last time we went somewhere or just had a simple conversation? Have you been busy or what?" She crossed her arms. "I want answers."

Now he really was getting irritated. The way she was acting got on his nerves, and he didn't really feel like he owed her any sort of explanation.

"I've just been busy is all," he replied while playing with his glass of water. "And well... I've been busy training a lot too."

"You're a terrible liar Naruto," she narrowed her eyes at him. "You haven't been training a lot. I've looked all over for you at times, and never once have I seen you training."

She knew about his very frequent visits to the Konoha prison on account of her asking other people on his whereabouts, but she decided to not bring that up just yet. Maybe he was secretly training to be an interrogator...

Yeah right. Whatever it was though, she needed to know about it.

Sakura leaned in closer and smirked at him. "You've been getting sloppy on missions too. So what gives?"

 _"Shit."_ He mentally cursed. _"I really do suck at lying."_ He looked at his water and furrowed his brows in thought. He was caught in his lies and now he was screwed on his secret that no one really knew about.

"Alright fine." Naruto said in defeat after a moment of silence. Having Sakura find out about this was the very last thing on his to-do list, but he reasoned she would have found out sooner or later anyway.

He leaned in closer to the girl sitting across from him and whispered.

"You have to keep this a secret, okay Sakura?" The girl nodded eagerly and leaned closer as well.

He paused for a moment, then he whispered to her. "I... I've been visiting Sasuke's old teammate. The one we-"

"You what?!" She cried in surprise with a face full of shock.

"Shut up!" He said in a hushed tone while covering her mouth with his hand. Numerous heads turned to see what the outburst was about. "This has to stay a secret!"

Sakura ripped his hand off her mouth. She reached over the table and pulled on his jacket so that their faces were close to each other.

" _That's_ why you've been visiting that damn prison!" She exclaimed in a moment of realization.

Naruto yanked her hand off him then stood up from his chair and exchanged his own words. "Why the hell do you care?!"

She stood up as well. "I care because she's an enemy! That's why she's locked up you damn doofus!"

"Exactly! She can't do anything bad!"

"That doesn't _matter_ ," Sakura said through grit teeth. "She's Sasuke's old teammate!" She paused before wearing a disbelieving look. She didn't like the idea of having one of her closest friends replace her with someone else. Anger and hints of jealousy forced tears at the corners of her eyes. "You've been visiting her this whole time? You've been talking to her behind my back?! How dare you!"

By now everyone in the shop including people outside had stopped to see what all the commotion was about.

Sakura continued her unreasonable fit of anger."Let me guess, you two have some sort of thing for each other, huh? I sure could count on you for being a dumbass, and to top it off, you managed to let a damn **whore** fool you into-!"

 _SLAP!_

Gasps were heard, heads turned and silence ensued inside the place.

Naruto looked at the collapsed girl on the floor, who held in her hand a red and already bruised cheek, and he barely realized that he was the one who had struck her. Everything just sort of built up, then his world became red and fuzzy. It all happened so quickly.

Sakura looked at her attacker with tears streaming down her face. He never once dared to hit her, especially not like that. She stifled a sob, then she stood up and walked out the doors of the restaurant.

Naruto looked at her retreating form, then he looked around at the people who stared at him. The way they all looked at him... It haunted him to no end, so he naturally fled the scene and desperately tried to catch up with the crying girl. He never found her, unfortunately.

 **Present**

" _I must have hit her hard... Dammit_." He scolded himself. _"I need to apologize later."_

Karin looked at him through the metal bars and saw that he was daydreaming again, so she tugged on the sleeve of his jacket a couple times.

He was once again awoken from his musings and he looked up at the girl sitting in front of him. They were both close to the thick metal bars separating one another.

"You did it again." She told him.

He gave her a smile and she immediately saw that he was faking it. "Sorry." He apologized. "I have a lot on my mind right now-"

"Did something happen Naruto?" She questioned while adjusting her glasses. She felt an obvious aura emanating from him, and it was very different from how he usually felt and acted.

His smile faltered and fell. He looked at her for some time before his face turned saddened and regretful. "Yeah." He replied in a quieter voice. "I really messed up this time."


	9. The Hug

"That bitch." Karin spat with anger.

It has been a month since Naruto's encounter with Sakura, and with time it led them to the chilly month of December.

The two friends were sitting on the cold floor while facing each other through the metal bars. They were currently 'celebrating' the redhead's 17th birthday by playing games of chess while talking about the change in attitude the villagers seemed to have for him.

The boy sighed and moved a piece. "Don't call her that. It's not her fault that people are jerks."

Through this past month, he noticed a drastic change of behavior towards him, no doubt it was because of what happened between him and Sakura at the shop. People were obviously acting more distant than normal around him; things like avoiding his service, being more careful as to not bump into or touch him, and the stares and whispers... He hated the stares and whispers the most. It reminded him of when he was smaller.

On one occasion, he found the best evidence for why this was happening...

 **Last Week**

He was eating at Ichiraku's like he normally did at times, just trying to enjoy his favorite food. In the midst of his eating, he sensed people talking about him behind his back a short distance away. Being curious, he listened in to what they had to say. He focused his hearing and could make out a pair of girls his age conversing among each other...

"-about him?"

"Yeah, what did you hear?"

"I heard he beat up his girlfriend in a restaurant after she broke up with him, and that his eyes changed to a red color or something."

"Wasn't it his teammate? They aren't dating. One of my friends was actually there, they were arguing about something and then he slapped her... But that's weird. They said his eyes changed color too... I bet it was that damn _demon_ that's inside of him."

His entire body tensed at hearing that horrible name.

"That boy is dangerous, why hasn't anyone done anything about him?"

It took a good amount of willpower not to openly tremble or grimace from his bottled up anger. However, he toned them out and continued to eat his meal. Once he was done he paid the appropriate amount and said a quick thank you to Teuchi, then proceeded to walk his way home. His entire day was ruined, though you'd never be able to tell.

 **Present**

He reasoned the whole village knew about the incident by now, and that fabricated versions of it were spreading. Now everyone had more reason to fear him more.

He brought himself out of his thoughts and tried not to let it all get to him. After all, he was spending time with his closest friend.

"Besides," he continued. "She already apologized."

Karin looked at him surprised. "She did? When." She asked disbelievingly.

He smiled and answered her. "A couple days ago. It's your turn." He pointed out, which prompted her to move a piece.

"What did she say?" She asked as she started to play with her red hair.

He recalled what happened days prior. "Well, when I went home one day she was sitting by my door. She said she was sorry for what happened that day. I think she blamed mostly herself, even though I was the one who hit her." He finished while scratching his head in thought. "I still feel bad about that."

"That's it?" Karin asked.

Naruto moved a piece forward. "Yup! She gave me a hug too, so that was nice. I haven't gotten one of those in a while."

A pang of jealousy ran through Karin's chest. Whether she liked it or not, she had taken a liking to the blonde male in front of her, so an interaction like _that_ wasn't going to be taken lightly by her. She knew it was way too soon to be feeling like this after her whole fiasco with Sasuke, but despite her internal protests she couldn't stop herself from having an interest in him. It didn't help that she was clingy and needed someone to depend on.

"I'd hug you too y'know." She whispered to herself while staring at the chess board.

The room became still and quiet.

Noticing the suddenly quiet atmosphere, she looked up from the board. He seemed visually surprised by her unintentional confession, and when she realized what she said, her face dawned a surprised look as well and her cheeks blushed lightly.

 _"I said that out loud?!"_ She mentally panicked. She got on her knees and grabbed the metal bars of her cell. "I-I mean as a friend! You know, because friends-!"

She stopped mid-sentence due to the laughing that ensued on the opposite side of the cell. For some reason, she got frustrated and even more embarrassed. She sat back down on the cold floor and waited until his laughter died down so she could give him a piece of her mind. "Naruto-"

"No, I get it." He interrupted. "It's just... What you said... It sounded almost like you were jealous." He looked at her and waited for her objectified outcry, something like 'Yeah right! I am NOT jealous you dumbass.'

But that never happened. They looked at one another, and for a while, no one spoke.

He hit the nail right on the head, and knowing she had nothing to lose, she decided to admit the truth of the matter. She wore a melancholy smile and opted for looking him straight in the eyes.

"I _am_ jealous." She said in a small voice.

His smile was wiped clean off his face and it took him some time to process the information.

She was jealous of the hug? Why?

"Why?" He asked in a voice full of questioning.

She smiled at him. "Because." She replied simply.

"Because...?" He asked, egging her on.

She hugged her legs close to her chest and rest her chin on her knees. "Just because, okay?"

Naruto marveled at the sight and thought of how cute she looked, but then he quickly banished those thoughts from his mind. He rubbed the back of his head in a nervous manner while grinning. "Well if you want a hug that bad you could always just ask for one I don't bite."

She deadpanned at his offer. "Oh, and how do you suppose I do that trapped in here? Idiot."

He ceased his actions and placed his arms on his lap. "Right." He said, then he held his chin in thought. "How could we get around that?" He openly pondered.

He looked at the cell she was in and noted that only their arms could make it through the thick metal bars, but the elbow prevented it from going any further. _"So something with hands..."_ He thought, and suddenly he had an idea.

"I know!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Gimme your hands."

She obliged and let go of her legs, choosing to sit normally. She put her hands through the bars and once they were through he simply grabbed each one, effectively holding her hands.

He grinned at his handiwork. "What'ya think?" He asked.

A small moment passed them by as he waited for a response, however Karin had yet to say anything; she just sat there and stared at their clasped hands.

Soon he became very self-aware, and began to think of how dumb his idea might have been. He sighed and looked at her. "Ok, maybe _not_ so much like a hug, but..."

His voice had yet to register on her ears. Karin stared at their hands in surprise at this unexpected event, and now she was unsure of what she was feeling.

This feeling of being held by another... Regardless of how simple the embrace may be. It felt so foreign and strange, but comforting and... And...

"Warm." She breathed out in a whisper.

Naruto, who had been blabbering the entire time, stopped upon hearing her and gave her a questioning look.

She continued to stare at their hands and was entranced by this newfound sense of comfort. This had to be one of the most heartfelt and touching things she's ever experienced. It was so small a thing, just having your hands held, but it seemed to have a deeper meaning. This was her 'hug'. Despite the odds of it all, this idiot managed to find a way to give her the hug she wanted. It was so stupid; it was just their hands doing the 'hugging'... Yet it worked.

"You okay?" He asked in concern at seeing her unresponsive state.

Still, she looked at their entwined hands, and couldn't help but feel joy in thinking that he actually came through for her. "I..." She finally broke from her trance and looked back at him with happiness written all over her face and small tears at the corner of her eyes. "Naruto, I-I can't even remember the last time I got a hug!" She said happily.

The boy laughed and squeezed her hands in joy at seeing that his idea worked and wasn't dumb. "You can always ask me for one. Everyone needs a hug once in a while." He replied while letting go of her hands.

She reluctantly drew her hands back into the cell. Their gazes met and their smiles never left their faces as she looked at him waiting for something else to happen.

"Happy birthday." He told her to avoid the silence.

She played with the buttons on her black jumpsuit in a cute way. "Thanks..." She replied blushing with a small smile. "I think I needed that."

He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Hey no problem."

Silence soon fell among them once more, until Naruto decided to break it. "Soooo... Wanna play?" He asked while bringing out a deck of cards from his pocket. "Chess isn't really that fun for me."

Karin smiled at his offer. "Fine... I'll play." She said while wiping away whatever tears accumulated.

"Anything in mind?" He asked as he removed the cards from the box.

She knew exactly what she wanted to play. She really didn't like the game that much, considering it got boring incredibly fast. However, she knew it was a favorite of his and decided to just let him have his fun.

"I was thinking go fish."


	10. The Mission, Departure

**One** **Month Later**

It was a cold January morning. Naruto was currently strolling through a lonely road near a rundown part of the village, thinking about anything; his sage training, new techniques he forced Jiraiya to teach him... But one way or another his thoughts would lead back to the girl behind the metal bars.

Indeed they had both gotten closer as the days passed them by, and no matter how many times he tried convincing himself that they were only friends, deep down inside of him he yearned to be something more.

It bothered him how fast he managed to see her in a different light. He had taken a keen liking to her and would oftentimes daydream about her, much like he was doing right now, then he would shame himself afterward for doing so. By now he reasoned she probably didn't feel the same as he did since she never really said anything about liking him, but he could dream if he wanted to.

In the midst of his musings, a person landed in the area close to him. He looked up to see a chuunin.

"The Hokage wants to see you, it's urgent." The man said.

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment. "Alright." He replied

The chuunin nodded in turn then jumped to a nearby rooftop and went on his way.

 _"Wonder what she could want this time."_ The boy thought to himself before following the chuunin's trail to the Hokage tower...

He arrived at the building and jogged up the stairs to Tsunade's office. He would have taken the much easier route of the window to get into the Hokage's room, but after Tsunade would rudely send him tumbling to the streets whenever he tried, he opted to use the traditional way.

Once outside the office door, he spotted Shizune and greeted her. She smiled. "Hey Naruto, glad you're not late for this." She lightly knocked on the wooden door. "Tsunade sama, Naruto's here."

They heard a muffled 'Bring him in', so Shizune opened the doors and both her and Naruto walked into the office.

Stepping inside he saw Tsunade, Sakura, Sai, Jiraiya, and a couple members of the Anbu gathered in the room and standing near the Hokage's desk.

 _"Woah."_ He thought, surprised by the number of people who were there. "Hey guys! What's all this about granny?" He asked his mother figure.

Tsunade closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose, annoyed by the rude nickname he always seemed to call her.

"Naruto be respectful." Sakura told him while suppressing the urge to hurt him.

"Well since you're all here I guess it's appropriate to inform you of your duties." Tsunade said to everyone there. She looked at Jiraiya, hinting at him to start talking.

"Right. Tsunade called you all here in order to inform you of a very important task. This is an S-rank mission we're dealing with here."

The room became still with Sakura and Naruto tensing up at the declaration. They had only ever been on very few S-rank missions, them being hunting Akatsuki and Sasuke.

"What's the task?" Sakura asked.

Jiraiya nodded to her. "To capture Uchiha Sasuke and my old teammate... We found Orochimaru's hideout."

Sakura and Naruto went wide-eyed at this new piece of information. Last time they checked, Orochimaru's hideouts were notorious for being incredibly hard to get any leads on, let alone find.

"Who managed to find such a thing?" Asked Sai in his monotone voice.

Jiraiya smirked and beamed at the question. "My spy network of course! Well, my spies did at least. There ain't nothing that can hide from those guys."

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, but you helped too didn't you?" She told him, which caused the aging man to look at her in appreciation.

"How did they find it?" Naruto interrupted, still amazed at the news.

"We managed to dumb down all the possible locations from around 500 to 10," Jiraiya said while looking at him. "From there we scouted the areas and looked for any genjutsus that would be hiding any access points to the hideout. It saved us a hell of a lot of time and effort, and we can only be thankful for that snake's disloyal follower who spilled the beans."

A red-haired girl immediately popped into Naruto's mind.

"They gave the biggest information leak we could have ever hoped for. Thank the gods for that, or my spies would be searching near Suna right now." He joked.

"Right," One of the female Anbu said. "When do we leave for this?"

Tsunade cleared her throat and answered. "You leave tomorrow. You all will meet at the gates 8 AM sharp. From there, Jiraiya here," she motioned to the toad sage beside her, "will be the one in charge of everything. You are to follow his orders, got it?"

A chorus of 'Yes lord Hokage' rang through the room.

"Very well," Tsunade continued. "Don't let me down. You're all dismissed."

 **Later**

Shortly after the mission briefing, Naruto decided to tell Karin about the news.

He entered the prison and did all the essentials; showing numerous guards his ID, going through the long staircase, and navigating through the maze of corridors the place seemed to have.

Finally, he came across the hallway where he knew she was held. He walked to the end of the hall until he arrived at the metal door that housed the girl.

Just then a jounin with long black hair materialized in front of him. He smiled at her. "Hi." He casually greeted.

She was always the one who opened the door for him, and he was dead set on one day getting her to greet him back, as all she ever did was smile in response to his greetings.

The girl simply smiled back without saying a word (which frustrated him) and unlocked the metal door by placing her thumb against the door's seal. A series of ticks and groans followed soon after and the heavy door was now unlocked.

The girl opened it for him and once he was in, she shut it, locked it, then peered through a small rectangular hole hidden in the metal wall. It was made out of a hard glass and was tinted to let her see clearly from the outside, but completely obscure the view from the inside of the room. She wasn't a creep or anything, it was a policy that all visitors be monitored behind closed doors.

Karin threw the book she was reading on the bed and walked up to the metal bars. "Naruto." She warmly welcomed him.

"Hey Karin!" He greeted her while also walking up to the bars. "There's something important I should tell you."

She raised an eyebrow and a smirk graced her features. "Oh, and what might that be?" She asked as she folded her arms under her breasts.

It took all of his willpower to not blush at the sight. _"Damn you, I swear you do that on purpose."_ He thought. "Me and Jiraiya sensei are gonna leave to capture Sasuke."

Karin looked at him surprised. "They found the-"

"Yeah, they did." He interrupted. "All thanks to you. Without your help we'd have been looking in all the wrong places. So thanks."

Karin smiled and became embarrassed at his praise. "Ah it was nothing, anything to get back at those bastards." She said while adjusting her glasses, but secretly she was happy to receive the praise. "Sooo..." She trailed off. "How long will you be gone _this_ time?" She asked addressing the elephant in the room.

Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Y'know that's a good question. Jiraiya sensei says it could take around 2 weeks just traveling there and back, then the mission itself could take some more days. So-"

"You'll be gone for a while." She said with an obviously changed demeanor.

Naruto ceased his actions and lowered his arm down. He knew how much she hated to be left alone. "Yeah..." He said almost in a whisper.

"And you leave...?"

"Tomorrow in the morning." He answered.

" _Damn._ " She thought. "Stay with me for a while then please?" She asked overdoing a pouty face while holding the bars of the cell.

Naruto fought the urge to blush. "It can't be for long, I have to pack everything-"

She barely managed to grab his hand through the metal bars and hold it with both of her own. "Please?" She asked sincerely with a hopeful yet sad look on her face.

This time he couldn't hold back the red dusting on his cheeks. "Fine." He said in defeat.

Her sadness melted away and was replaced with momentary happiness. She smiled sweetly at him. "Thanks."

 **The Next Day...**

She had a big surprise for her yellow-haired friend. After he left, Karin decided last night that she would go through with her plan to make him something, and so she spent a good amount of time preparing the surprise.

She had been planning on a gift even before the news of his mission, but since he would leave very soon it only caused her thinking to shift into overdrive. Now he would just have to open her present while he was away from the village.

Come early morning, loud noises from the metal door being unlocked startled and awoke her from sleep. She remembered that Naruto said he'd visit one last time before he left, so she hurriedly tried to fix her messy hair and wake herself up a little. She grabbed her glasses from the floor and put them on. The door opened and in he came, all geared up with a knapsack slung around his shoulders.

"Morning." He said with a smile.

Karin returned a smile and got out of her bed slower than normal as a result of drowsiness. They both walked to the metal bars and faced each other.

"So you'll be leaving then?" She questioned the obvious.

"Yeah." He looked at the clock in the room. "In 10 minutes... Jeez I hope I'm not late." He cringed knowing Sakura would probably berate him.

She laughed at the face he was making. "Don't worry, I won't keep you for long." She said while moving to her bed. She reached under it and retrieved a scroll that was tied by a small string. With it in hand, she walked back him.

She looked up into his eyes, their gaze meeting each other.

"Here." She said simply while pushing the scroll through a gap in the bars with both her hands.

Naruto looked at it for a good second before smiling and taking it. "What's this?" He asked while observing the item.

She looked down at her clothes and played with her fingers. "It's-" Just then she noticed he was already trying to open it.

She gasped and comically flung herself against the bars desperately trying to reach for it. "AHH! YOU IDIOT DON'T OPEN IT RIGHT _NOW_!" She screamed at him.

Naruto flinched at her loud, sudden outburst and looked at her questioningly. "Uhmm... Why? Why not?" He asked curiously.

Karin turned red with embarrassment. She mentally scolded herself for overreacting and looked down at the concrete while playing with the buttons on her black jumpsuit. "It's a surprise... You need to open it later though." She replied.

"But-but why?" He questioned further.

She thought for a second. "So you can have time to think about it." She almost whispered.

"Think about what?" He asked. Now he was just confused.

Karin sighed to herself in exasperation and was already regretting this idea. She looked up at him. "Nothing. Just don't open it anytime soon, okay? Maybe..." She trailed off in thought, then suddenly her face lit up. "Oh!" She said and gripped the bars of her cell. "Open it after you beat those bastards senseless! Consider it then as a gift for doing me some good."

Naruto was about to say something in return but he dawned a surprised look when he remembered he had somewhere else to be. Turning to the front of the room, he seen the clock read 7:55. _"Dammit!"_ He thought while turning back to the girl. "I gotta-"

"I know." She cut him off. She put her hands through the bars and looked at him expectantly.

He put the scroll in his pocket and enveloped her hands into his own. Neither of them felt embarrassed by the seemingly intimate contact, considering for them it was just a way to say their hellos or goodbyes.

"I'll miss you, y'know.." She said truthfully with a hint of sadness. She knew full well that she was going to be very, very lonely in his absence, and she was already starting to feel the anxiety that came with the unbearably quiet room.

Naruto smiled fondly at her. "I'll miss you too."

He reluctantly let go of their 'embrace' and made his way to the metal door and knocked on it. The door made a bunch of noises signifying it had been unlocked.

She adjusted her glasses. "Be safe too okay? Can't have you dying on me." She joked light-heartedly.

He rubbed the back of his head while grinning. "Stop worrying so much!" He said. "Listen, when I come back I'll tell you all about the ass I kicked! And then we can do whatever you want."

She smiled at him. "Promise?" She asked.

"Promise."

It warmed her heart to have his reassurance. "Good. Now get going you idiot, you're gonna be late."

He opened the metal door and looked back at the girl he would miss so much. "Bye." He said as he exited the room. The door closed behind him and locked into place.

"Bye." She whispered to herself. Not only will she get lonely, but now she had good reason to fear over his well being. She walked to her bed and settled into it, hoping to pass the time now that she had nothing to do.

 _"Please come back soon."_ She thought longingly with butterflies in her stomach. After all, she still had to wait weeks for his answer...

 **At The Gates**

Naruto arrived just in time to see Jiraiya, Sakura, Sai, and numerous Anbu at the outside of gates.

Jiraiya looked at the newly arrived shinobi. "All set?" He asked.

Naruto grinned at the man. "Yup!" He declared.

Sakura smiled at her teammate and hoped this time would be their last in trying to bring back their long-lost comrade.

"Listen up," Jiraiya announced to the group. "Our mission starts now. We'll rest when the sun sets. Let's move." He dashed into the tree lines and the rest of the group followed suit.

All except one. Naruto took the scroll out of his pocket and remembered the promise he made to his most precious person. He smirked at remembering the girl who gave it to him before placing it back in his pocket. _"Let's get this over with."_ He thought while dashing into the trees to follow the rest of the group.


	11. In Your Dreams I've Warned

**Weeks Later**

The water and sand felt good under her feet. She couldn't remember the last time she felt something so soothing.

Karin was at a beach shore and walking along the sand where the short tides would come in and wet her feet occasionally. She was dreaming, of course, although she opted to make the most of it while she could. It seemed that only in her dreams could she find a way to escape her prison cell.

Earlier in her dream, she remembered her escaping the cell by using a teleportation jutsu, but somehow she ended up here. Now she just aimlessly walked along the shore.

Suddenly she heard someone calling her. Karin's head jerked up at the voice. It sounded strangely familiar, but...

There was something very off about it. She knew the voice... But she couldn't remember who it belonged to. Looking ahead of her she saw a white figure manifest itself off in the distance.

There was something about it that she couldn't help but be drawn to, and so she walked towards it. Then she jogged. Soon she found herself running towards the white figure. The voice that called her beckoned her closer, and soon she found herself running endlessly towards it, but to no avail. No matter how hard she tried she could never seem to reach the white being.

All of a sudden she felt a great tremble within her body. It resonated throughout her entire being and made her stop in her tracks. She felt it again, a deep and pronounced 'bang' within her very bones. Karin looked around herself and found that her dreamland of beaches and relaxation rudely came to an end, and was replaced with utter blackness as far as the eye can see.

She felt the vibration once again, but this time she could hear it as well as feel it. She turned around upon hearing the sound of something slamming on metal and was horrified to see a gigantic and great fox with nine tails caged behind bars much like her. The fox didn't look at her, didn't even face her as its back was against the enormous metal bars. It moved away slightly, only to once again slam itself against the cell, creating an incredibly loud echo of flesh and backbone hitting metal while creating tremors that traveled through her body.

The fox continued to do this without interruption while she stared on at the beast, and out of nowhere a terrible feeling overwhelmed her senses. An unbearable sadness made her drop to the floor, where she pulled at her hair and cried tears of blood.

 _"Wake up!"_

She woke with a jump and opened her eyes. She was uncomfortably warm, and she swore she could still feel the vibrations in her body. She made out the familiar shapes of her cell and breathed a sigh of relief, and was thankful to have finally awakened.

"About time." A male's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Get up! You have a hearing."

Karin shook off her drowsiness upon processing his words. " _A hearing?!_ " She thought surprised. She never had one and was starting to worry they had forgotten about her after all these months.

She reached below her bed and scooped up her glasses that were placed on the floor, putting them on. Karin got a good look at who the guard was that rudely awakened her. He had black short hair and was issued in a chuunin outfit. He, however, wasn't the only one present. Looking beyond him she could make out two Anbu standing outside of the opened metal door.

"Did you not hear me?" The chuunin asked.

"I heard." Karin said tiredly. She rubbed her eyes and threw her thin blanket off of her and got out of bed.

"Up against the wall, hands behind your back." He ordered.

She complied. The man then pressed his thumb against a seal on the cell's door, unlocking it. He walked in and reached behind him while readying a pair of chakra made restraints.

He placed them on her hands, then he led her out of the room and into the hallway of the prison. The ANBU members closed the heavy metal door and then the chuunin handed her over to the two masked men. Soon, they were on their way to the hearing

Karin felt a surge of emotions bubble into her stomach as she was being escorted by the two men, and a mixture of fear and anxiousness gnawed away at her insides. She was finally getting her hearing after so long. It filled her with dread, but she could only hope that everything ended in her favor.

 _"I've told them everything I know."_ She thought to herself while being escorted through the many hallways of the prison. _"That has to count for something."_

 **Later...**

Karin and her escorts made it out of the prison and the group then made their way to the courthouse in which she would attend her hearing.

It was cold outside, and the sun was barely rising, but she didn't mind one bit; she was used to her cold cell and it was incredibly refreshing to finally be outside after being closed off for months on end.

She took in the town scenery and smelled the fresh morning air. This new sense of freedom felt exhilarating, and she opted to make the best of this rare opportunity for sightseeing.

There weren't many villagers out doing their business yet, but unfortunately, the few that were made sure to stop and glare at her as she passed them by, reminding Karin that she was still a prisoner and currently bound by her wrists.

And so she looked down at the dirt, unable to meet their hateful gazes which reminded her that she was still in a very misfortunate situation.

Her momentary sense of freedom came to an abrupt end. The men steered her towards a building that she could only assume was the courthouse, where they then opened the door. The knots in her stomach returned full force as they pushed her into the building.

 **Elsewhere**

A group of battle stricken shinobi lay resting in their tents located in a forest far away from Konoha. A bonfire that had once been used now lay long since put out. It was dark out still, but the sun was soon to illuminate the forest, meaning the group of ninjas would soon have to continue on their long journey home. Although most of the group opted for sleeping in as much as possible, it was Naruto's turn for watch duty, so he stayed up all night watching over the group while he sat against a tree.

He had a myriad of thoughts plaguing his mind. Just 4 days ago they had successfully infiltrated Orochimaru's hideout, managed to catch his henchmen off guard and steal many of his scrolls that looked very important to him.

They had entered through a huge tree that was really an illusion, behind it was an entryway. The group moved in and used the impressive map made by Karin to navigate through the underground facility and avoid any dummy rooms. While Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai raced their way towards an area Sasuke and Orochimaru were known for being, the Anbu that accompanied them used their copy of the map to find their way to the rooms where Orochimaru's top secret scrolls were held.

The Anbu members vastly succeeded in stealing a great number of scrolls, but sadly the other group of shinobi didn't get what they wanted. Sasuke and Orochimaru were nowhere to be found throughout the base, and they had to conclude that the pair of criminals simply moved to a different hideout...

A major letdown to both Naruto and Sakura, but with the great number of missing shinobi and criminals that gathered to eliminate the intruders, they couldn't afford to let that get to them.

Now here they are, resting from the wounds they received while battling Orochimaru's servants. With the two notorious criminals gone, it only made Naruto more anxious knowing that dangerous people were still at large.

He thought of the tiring journey ahead. He thought of Akatsuki, who still planned to capture his kind. He thought of his most precious people that he wanted to protect most in the world...

Naruto perked up at remembering Karin. He forgot all about the scroll that she gave him, a result of the tiring trip and constant need to focus on the mission. He stood up from his position against the tree and went over to his tent, where he then grabbed his knapsack and rummaged through it. Upon finding the scroll he exited the tent and sat down on a dead log.

 _"I wonder what she could have done for me..."_ He thought. He looked over it and noticed a patch of tiny written words that he never noticed before. Looking closer at the rolled up paper he made out the words 'To my best friend.'

He couldn't wipe the grin off his face even if he tried. Now he was more curious than ever to know what was hidden in the scroll. He looked over his shoulders for any prying eyes that would invade his privacy, then he turned his attention back to the scroll and got ready to open it. He pulled on the tiny string that kept it from unraveling and excitedly opened it.

What he found completely shook his entire world...


	12. The Hearing

**The Courthouse**

Karin looked around and noticed the room was a good size and well kept, with marble flooring and nice furniture that looked inviting and comfortable. They walked up to the receptionist who was currently scribbling things down on a notepad.

"Ahem." One of the Anbu cleared their throats.

The girl continued to write things down, but eventually she stopped and looked up at the group expectantly.

"The prisoner... She has a hearing scheduled." The masked man continued. The receptionist grabbed a clipboard from her desk and flipped through numerous pages.

"Hmmm..." The girl thought aloud and then looked at a clock on her desk. "7-22?" She asked, referring to Karin's identification number.

"Yes." The two Anbu members stated after remembering the number the chuunin from before had given them.

"Right this way." The receptionist stood up and walked to a door that was a distance away from her desk. One Anbu forcibly nudged Karin forward, which earned a grunt and a glare from the red-haired girl. The receptionist opened the door and walked in with the group following behind her.

The room they entered was actually a long hallway. At the end of the hallway, there was a big set of doors with benches seated alongside the walls. They all walked towards the large doors but were stopped from going any further by the receptionist.

"Wait here." She said as she entered through the doors and promptly closed them behind her.

A still silence ensued. Karin could hear her heart beat faster as the seconds grew by.

 _"Calm down."_ She mentally told herself. She was in a very bad situation, and it felt as if the butterflies in her stomach were eating away at her insides.

Karin thought of all the negatives the council would most likely bring up, like her pronounced ties with Orochimaru. Thinking back on it, she really wished she could take it all back. After all, she was forced to do many of those things.

The big doors opened, interrupting Karin's thoughts. The receptionist poked her head through the doors. "Bring her in."

The group entered the chambers and the receptionist left, leaving them and a single person sitting behind a center raised desk. There were other desks arranged in a circle revolving around the room, most likely for a council, but they were all empty.

The two masked men walked the prisoner straight down the path to the center of the room. Once there, they stopped and simply held the girl in place by hooking one arm around her bounded ones.

Karin looked up at the judge, and the judge looked down at her. He wore dark-blue robes and had long grey hair, with his face holding all the signs of an aged man. He put on his glasses and looked back and forth between her and some papers that were strewn around his desk.

"I see our facilities are taking good care of the criminals." The judge said upon seeing her intact state.

Usually, prisoners looked fierce and had numerous scars or debilitating injuries and ultimately looked appropriate for what belonged in a prison. However, she looked completely fine, and the old man was not used to seeing that.

"She confessed," one Anbu member stated. "The torture department never even touched her."

"Hm." The judge laughed. "I see. Give me a moment." He stated while reading over the documents that were provided to him.

For a while it was quiet, and the minutes that passed only served to make Karin feel more anxious and scared all the more. _"Please let me off easy, please please please..."_ She kept repeating in her head. _"I don't want to spend years in prison dammit! Please just give me a chance!"_ She thought to herself and stayed hopeful.

Suddenly the judge interrupted everyone's lingering thoughts. "It's been months since we put you up for a village or nation to claim you. No one has, so you are under Konoha jurisdiction." He looked down at his papers. "You are a B-rank criminal in the bingo books, though these documents support otherwise." He continued. "You do not have any nation nor village of origin. You do not have a last name..." The old man looked at her. "You've put a lot of work into hiding your past haven't you?" He asked, not expecting an answer.

Karin glared at the man hearing his accusation. She never did anything of the sort. "I'm an orphan." She stated, irritated.

"Hm. As unfortunate as that may be, you have made some unacceptable choices thus far." The judge replied while picking up one of the papers on his desk and proceeding to read. "You are a subordinate to that snake Orochimaru, and I see you've aided in many of his works; forbidden experiments, aiding injured criminals, stealing intelligence, scouting for intelligence, aiding in village assaults..." The judge paused. "This is all I need to put you where you belong for a _very_ long time."

Chills ran down her body, and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. "I... I was forced to do most of those things. I was picked up by Orochimaru as an orphan, and... And he forced me to do everything, or else he'd kill me!" She exclaimed as tears gathering in her eyes.

The judge looked down at her. "That may be so, but we have no way to validate that. On the other hand..." He picked up a folder with many papers inside and showed it off. "We have your word and the documentation against you. I doubt there are any witnesses to testify in your favor, and I-"

"Then give me a trial!" She cried. "I might have someone who can vouch for me." She said thinking about Naruto, but now she was just desperate; surely there was nothing he could do to help her in this case.

"I don't think that's necessary." He replied in his old voice. "All the evidence is here, and I've already a suitable sentencing in mind..."

The judge looked back at his papers and began alternating between reading documents and writing things down on a different paper.

The tears that were held back finally flooded her vision and dripped down her face. "This... This isn't fair." She sniveled sadly, but she spoke no more when one of the Anbu members pushed her so that she'd shut up. She felt so helpless and frustrated, and more than ever did she wish that Naruto was here to help her out somehow.

"Listen here." The judge declared. "Despite all your wrongdoings, you've managed to save yourself some. You've given a great deal of information about your affiliates, and as a result, have helped this village to seize one of Orochimaru's hideouts..."

 _"They did it."_ Karin thought and was glad to hear something positive.

The judge scribbled on some more papers and briefly paused to think. "And since you've managed to help us, that only helps your case a little more." He ceased his writing and looked down at her. "Normally a person of your caliber would earn you life in prison..."

Her stomach dropped upon hearing those words.

"But," he continued, "you did confess, and you've guided us to a breakthrough discovery. A confession normally wipes 5 years, but you told the truth and did well by helping this village in the end. I say that deserves half off of a normal person's life."

 _"Wait-"_

"The way I see it, that leaves you with..."

 _"N-no-"_

"40 years inside Konoha's prison."

 _"4-"_ She thought disbelievingly. _"40 years?"_

"That would leave you with 45 years, but I've decided to do 40 years mandatory stay instead. The other 5 years will be probation." The old judge explained in a somewhat happy manner.

She never caught a single word past hearing her sentencing. She felt numb all over, and she was sure that she was dreaming. She had to be, right? Nothing so dreadful should ever be able to happen to a person.

The judge signed official documents, setting up this sentencing as permanent: 40 years prison, 5 years probation.

"Would you two mind signing as witnesses?" The judge asked the two Anbu accompanies. They agreed and let go of the statue they previously were holding.

Once they let her go, Karin had nothing else to support herself on. She fell to the floor, with it came a crushing reality and lost hopes of a new life.


	13. The Scroll, My Misery

**Back to the forest**

Naruto heard a rustling sound behind him. He quickly hid the scroll behind him with one hand and readied a kunai for a potential attacker with another hand.

He turned around and seen a blob of pink hair emerging from a tent. He immediately loosened up and lowered the blade, then placed it back in its holster.

"Uhm... Morning Sakura." He greeted while scratching his head.

"Morning yourself." She smiled and walked towards him. "I was gonna go fishing so we can eat before the day... Starts..." She paused noticing he was hiding something behind his back

She looked at the object behind him, not quite able to make out what it was. She looked back to him and noticed he seemed sort of panicked.

"What?" He asked pretending to be unaware.

She folded her arms playfully and raised an eyebrow. "Hiding something?"

 _"Damn."_ He thought. "No! I was just... Uhhmm..."

"Mhm." She noised disbelievingly. "I'll let you off this time, but you better not let me catch you doing something stupid."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Sakura would flip out if she ever saw the scroll.

The girl turned around and walked towards the lake that was nearby. "You're helping me, so hurry up!"

Once Sakura was gone and out of his view, he brought the scroll out of hiding for him to admire again.

It was a painting. Karin had made a picture of both him and her that detailed them in each other's arms and embraced in a hug. Below them were pieces of her handwriting:

 _"-You're the only visitor I get, yet you're all I've ever needed. You might be an idiot sometimes, but I can only be grateful that an idiot like you is in my life when I need one the most._

 _I just want to thank you for everything: visiting, talking to me, playing your dumb games, your stories. You have no idea how much it means to me that someone cares enough to keep me company._

 _These past months have been bearable because of you, and to tell you the truth I'd be so scared and lonely if you stopped showing up one day._

 _For these reasons Naruto, I couldn't help but fall for you. I know I'm in the worst situation possible, and we haven't known each other for long, but if you give me a chance I know we can have something special when I get out of this shitty place._

 _In short, I like you more than just a friend! You need to think about this while you're gone."_

The scroll was an obvious confession. Just thinking about it sent crazy butterflies to his stomach, the picture too, and he felt like the luckiest person in the world right now.

He wondered to himself. _"What happens when I go back? Could we be a thing, like... A couple? What if she doesn't mean it that way?! But that makes no sense... She said she likes me! More than-"_

"HEY! NARUTO!" Sakura yelled from within the forest.

He took one last glance at the scroll. He rolled it up and walked to his tent to place it inside, then he walked to the lake to help Sakura capture fish for their morning meal. He would have to think about this sometime else...

 **1 Hour Later**

The entire group rose up to eat and prepare for the rest of their journey home. They still had a week or so left in reaching the village, so they opted for spending as little time resting as they could.

After they finished eating, they took down their tents and readied their supplies for the trip ahead. With everyone ready to go, they continued on their journey.

 **Elsewhere...**

The trip back to her cell was surreal and went by like a blur.

She didn't realize she was back in her room until the heavy metal door closed and locked in place loudly. She was as unmoving as a stick and stood exactly where the Anbu had left her.

She stayed still as she tried to grasp what happened just moments ago. _'40 years.'_ Karin remembered the judge's words, feeling chills go down every pore in her body. _"40... 40 years... I... I need to..."_

She felt light-headed, so she walked to her bed. She lied down in it, then she grabbed her pillow and hugged it close to her chest.

 _"Need rest."_

She still tried to make sense of it: 40 years. It seemed like a long time to fully comprehend... How long had she been in prison again?

 _"Half a year."_ She remembered. It was like she was repeating these 6 months 80 times over again. It was an awfully long time already as half a year... But doing it over that many times?

And suddenly it dawned on her just how ginormously long she would be staying in this horrible cell.

The realization quickly overtook her emotions in no time. Hot tears quickly flooded her vision and forced out a loud sob from her. "Oh god!" She cried in horror. "Oh my GOD!" She screamed and tightly hugged her pillow while tears streamed out of her eyes.

Her saddened cries fell on deaf ears in the enclosed room. She wailed and screamed while strangling her pillow in a death grip of a hug, it soon being wet from the tears that flowed freely.

And for a while it stayed like this, never letting up in the least.

She cried for so long that she couldn't seem to do it anymore, and so she moaned and whimpered at her own misfortunes. She cried until the clock read 10 hours later, and only then was she able to cry herself to sleep...

 **Meanwhile**

The group had set up camp in the forest to rest after their tiring journey in the forest. It was nighttime, and the group made a bonfire to cook the fish they had left over from the morning.

The several Anbu that accompanied their mission insisted on continuing back to the village on their own, reasoning that the stolen scrolls should be examined as soon as possible, so they left.

At the fire, they ate while Jiraiya told stories of when he was younger. He talked about his travels and interesting missions he went on with his team. Everyone enjoyed his stories, they stayed by the fire even after they all were done eating. Soon, however, everyone succumbed to their tiredness and decided to catch up on much-needed rest...

 **Naruto's Tent**

Naruto was lying down in his sleeping bag and was so tired from staying up all night, yet despite his best efforts, he couldn't seem to fall asleep. There were way too many thoughts and made up scenes of him and his apparent admirer meeting up again.

He had no idea what would happen when he went back. He did want to have a relationship with the girl, but there were certain obvious restrictions he couldn't seem to wrap his head around.

 _"I do like her a lot, and I've always wanted something like this... But she's a prisoner."_

He sighed and covered his face with his hands. "...Oh man. Why of all things did it have to be this?" He thought aloud.

And so his time spent trying to resolve his uncertainty was in vain, as he just continued to talk to himself and think about this outrageous situation.

After a while, he figured that he needed some fresh air to clear his mind. He stood up and grabbed the scroll from his knapsack and poked his head through the tent flaps, looking to see if anyone was out this late at night.

Jiraiya was slumped over on a dead tree log, snoring comically and fast asleep. Naruto sweatdropped. The toad sage was supposed to be on watch duty.

He walked quietly out in the open and made his way towards the less open and deeper parts of the woods. He strolled the tree-filled terrain and relaxed as the cold night air caressed his skin and nature's smell filled his nose.

After minutes of strolling through the forest, he found a nice grassy area with a tree right in the middle of it. He walked up to the tree and sat down with his back against it.

Once getting comfortable, he opened the scroll and examined it as close as he could under the moonlight. He looked at the picture and read the writing again. Then again, and again. Over and over.

He must have read it 100 times. Each time filled him with excitement and a deep longing at the thought of being a couple with the girl he liked, but a growing pit of uncertainty in his chest bothered him greatly and couldn't be ignored.

He closed his eyes and tried to make sense of his situation.

 _"She likes me, I like her, we want to be more than friends, but she's in prison for who knows how long..."_ He sighed, and the feeling of uncertainty returned full force.

His breathing and heartbeat became quicker, and he felt tears coming to his eyes. Naruto cursed his bad luck, everything felt so unfair at this moment.

"The first girl ever to want me... The first girl _ever_ to like me back..." He looked at the picture Karin drew for him. "And she's locked up." He scoffed. Bitter feelings of sadness and anger were building inside of him.

"Why can't things work out for me, just this once?" He asked no one particular.

"That's a good question kid."

His head snapped up at the voice. It was Jiraiya, long white hair and all. He was standing no more than 10 feet away from him.

Naruto looked at him with surprise evident in his blue eyes. He stood up and hid the scroll behind his back while quickly putting on a mask and changing his demeanor. "Pervy sage!" He said accusingly. "Where did you-"

"Why don't things work out for everyone? Wouldn't this world be so much better if you got everything you wanted? If everything went your way?" He asked in a sarcastic tone. The toad sage walked up beside him, then proceeded to sit against the tree. He looked up at the boy and told him to do the same.

Naruto obliged and hesitantly sat next to him. It was quiet for some time, with no words or actions being exchanged.

"It just doesn't work like that." Jiraiya broke the silence. "Not everyone can get what they want."

Naruto exhaled and his eyes lay downcast. Oh how right was he?

"I have every reason to believe that fate's a woman." The man continued and looked at Naruto. "You see, you can try all you want to win her favor, but if you're nothing but a weak-willed coward who lacks determination, she won't want you, and you'll be left with Fate's ugly sister called Misfortune. But, if you're the courageous guy with confidence and determination, you'll get Fate herself on your lap and riding off with you into the sunset."

Naruto just looked at him with a weird expression.

Jiraiya sighed and scratched his forehead. He didn't understand half the things he said either.

He put an arm around his student's neck. "In other words, don't be the weak-willed coward, you gotta fight for what you want! And if that doesn't work just take it! Without no risks and effort everything would be too easy huh?" Jiraiya finished with a hearty laugh.

Naruto smiled, the man's cheerful behavior being soothing to his otherwise conflicting emotions. "Yeah... I guess you're right sensei."

Jiraiya removed his arm from the boy's neck and his laughter died down. "Sorry about that, just me and my ramblings. So what is this I hear, someone who likes you is locked up?"

Naruto's blood ran cold and he froze. He had no idea his teacher heard that much of his talking.


	14. Much Needed Talks

"Well?" Jiraiya asked seemingly interested in what he had to say, but no response came from the boy beside him. "Come on" -he nudged him in the shoulder- "you can tell me." The boy, however, was in turmoil.

 _"Should I?"_ He pondered. On one hand, there was a part of him that leaped at the thought of telling someone his troubles and sharing his burdens, but on the other hand there lay a feeling of dread that his admission would be held against him. What would his master think of his situation?

A silence ensued among the pair as Naruto's thoughts rained on.

The cool night air tousled their hair before leaving a soothing and calm atmosphere they could bathe in, and after some time, the blonde sighed in conclusion that he had nothing to lose.

"Yeah." He admitted in a small voice.

A second passed before the man next to him spoke. "No kidding?" He asked in an almost disbelieving tone. "My pupil's got a girl with the hots for him?" He asked, excitement building in his voice.

Naruto blushed slightly at his use of wording. "I guess so."

Jiraiya's eyes sparkled and a rush of pride for his apprentice filled his senses. He gave his student a big pat on the back and a profound grin that only served to creep out the male next to him. "HA HA! I _knew_ all those lessons on women would come in handy one day!" He exclaimed while hooking his arm over Naruto's neck once more.

"You found yourself a girl..." He said in an almost dreamy sort of way. "Finally all my hard work has paid off, that's all I've ever wanted you know." He was mostly talking to himself by now, and had dramatic animated tears of happiness streaming down his face.

Naruto gave the older man a confused look at how easily he seemed to forget such a significant detail in his story. "She's locked up: in jail, remember?"

Jiraiya's comical behavior visibly vanished and turned more appropriate and serious. He recollected himself and cleared his throat.

"Right." He said while resting back against the tree and looking at the illuminated forest in front of him. "How did you guys meet then?" He asked.

Naruto thought back to the day when he first got to know the redheaded girl. "At her cell. They allow visitors, so I went to see her one time." The wind picked up slightly and blew at their hair. "Next thing I knew we were seeing each other more and more."

The older man made a 'hm' sound and reflected on what his apprentice just told him. "Jail huh? Tough stuff... But how did that happen anyway?" He asked, getting more and more interested in the boy's affairs.

Naruto fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket. "She... Did some bad things." He admitted. He wasn't in any mood to provide broader details.

"Not too bad, right?" Jiraiya asked.

Feeling somewhat truthful, he replied with a simple no, which earned another 'hm' from his master.

Moments passed them by with neither one saying a word and both of them unmoving. With Naruto's admission fresh in his mind, Jiraiya reflected on the boy's situation. He thought of Naruto's strange and forbidden scenario, the type of scenario that only appeared in comedic plays and folklore: in things that were _made up_ and _joked_ upon. This was the literal stuff of fiction, to hear such an absurd thing in real life made the aged man ponder on how such a thing could make its way to reality.

"What should I do?" A voice full of confusion brought him out of his thoughts. Jiraiya looked at the source of the voice: there sat a 17-year-old boy with blonde hair and whiskers on his cheeks. Looking deeper he could see a deep confliction in his blue eyes.

"I always thought I'd want something like this. I thought I wanted it with Sakura, but then this girl comes and changes everything." He paused. "Then she says she likes me... But-"

"How do you feel about her?" The question caught him by surprise. He turned his head to Jiraiya and seen he was looking at him. They stared for a brief moment until Naruto turned his gaze to the forest in front of them. He hesitated for a moment, but spoke when he thought of how much he's already told the man. "I have feelings for her, but I-"

"There, you've said it!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "You like her, so what's all this unconfidence about?"

The boy just looked at him weird, so Jiraiya decided to elaborate further. "You _like_ her. She likes you. What's stopping you guys from sealing the deal?"

He's going senile, Naruto thought. Has he forgotten about Karin's current status again? He gave the older male a questioning glare and promptly voiced his thoughts. "Did you forget _again_?"

Jiraiya only smirked. "Nope, not at all. I'll ask again. What's stopping you two from getting together?"

He reasoned his master wasn't crazy, and definitely not senile... So why was he asking such a stupid question when he already knows the answer?

"Naruto," Jiraiya said. "If you and that girl truly want to have... _Something_ , then so be it. There shouldn't be anything stopping you two. Love is something so great that can't be restricted to even your situation. Not even jail is enough to stop the determination of loving someone."

 _"Love?!"_ The boy beside him was panicking in his head. He blushed and his heartbeat quickened beyond normal pacing. "Hey who said anything about loving someone!" He exclaimed in an over-dramatic fashion and put on an irritated demeanor. On the inside, however, Jiraiya's words made him deeply question his feelings for Karin.

Could these 'feelings' be associated with something much more meaningful? He thought of her back in the cell, her ruby-red eyes and smile hidden behind the bars while her outreaching hands waited for his to finish their makeshift 'hug' they created. Lo and behold his heart raced at the thought of holding her hands again-it never felt like this before whenever they interacted in such a way.

He mentally shook himself from his musings and cursed the middle-aged man for planting these thoughts in his head. _There's no way I'm in love with her, I just like her,"_ he thought while his blush became more prominent. _"Damn perv is just assuming things."_

"Yup," Jiraiya continued and ignored his outburst. "It's undying too. You find yourself moving on from a person you once loved, and after decades, even a hundred years, deep down that person will still have a place in your heart." He spoke in a melancholy voice with a certain teammate pictured in his mind.

Naruto crossed his arms. "You're rambling again." He said in a way that told him to shut up.

Jiraiya smiled and blew air out of his nose. "I do that sometimes." He admitted. He glanced towards the scroll that lay forgotten and resting on the ground between them. "What's this?" He said while he grabbed the item.

Naruto barely registered any of this, but when he did and seen that he was opening the scroll he freaked out.

"AH! What're you doing!" He yelled and dramatically reached across Jiraiya's body for the scroll (much in the same way that Karin did).

Jiraiya cried out in surprise at the sudden attack and was saddened to see the scroll was snatched from his hands. He looked to the person who just assaulted him, still dazed. "I just wanted to-"

"No! No way, get your own gramps." He stated and clutched the scroll close to his chest. Jiraiya, now more curious than ever, just _had_ to read it. "What's so important that you cant show your old master?" He asked with a faked hurt expression.

Naruto wasn't buying any of it. "It's just a letter... From a friend." He opted for telling the bare minimum of the truth.

Jiraiya knew the scroll was somehow linked to Naruto's story. On more than one occasion when they stopped during the day to drink water or 'use the bathroom,' he saw the boy seclude himself from the others and read the scroll intently with an admiring look on his face. With this in mind, he just _knew_ he had to read it. This was just too interesting to let go.

But he could wait a little. He dropped the act and smirked at his apprentice. "Alright." He stood up from his position on the grassy floor and looked down at the younger male, then he extended a hand for him to take. "Personal stuff, I get it." Naruto looked at the hand for a second before accepting it and being helped up off the ground.

"We better get some sleep, we have a long journey ahead." The blonde agreed and was thankful that his master dropped his sudden interest so quickly.

Together they walked through the forest filled with trees and back to the campsite. Along the way, Jiraiya tried to get information about the letter, but Naruto was a tough nut to crack when he wanted to be, so he ended up getting a whole lot of nothing.

They arrived at the campsite and seen that Sakura and Sai were still asleep in each of their tents, so the pair opted to do the same.

Jiraiya went into his tent and got snug into his sleeping bag, but upon remembering he had watch duty, he silently cried on the inside and dragged himself out of his tent. He plopped onto the log he previously sat on and listened to the buzzing of insects and crickets. He would have been better off staying in the tent however, as he fell asleep just after 5 minutes of keeping watch.


	15. Regret

**The Next Morning**

The group rose up in the morning to begin another grueling day of traveling in the forest. By now everyone was tired of the journey and wanted nothing more than to just go home. They ate whatever rations they had for breakfast and then packed their tents for the long trek home. Soon, they took for the trees and dashed across the enormous branches.

 **Hours Later**

They've been traveling for hours now. At the very front leading the group was Jiraiya, his white long hair flowing behind him with every leap he took. Suddenly he stopped and put his hand up in a serious manner, signaling the others to stop just as he did. They all landed on the branch and were alert for any danger they may have come across.

"Enemies?" Sai asked.

Jiraiya stood still for a moment. "Not quite..." He bent forwards and groaned while putting a hand on his back in pain. "My back is killing me!"

"What?!" Both Sakura and Naruto yelled out in confusion and disbelief. Of all the things it could have been.

Jiraiya continued to put on a seemingly genuine fit of him holding his back in pain. "Oh my back..." He said in a slight whisper.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya looked at him with dramatic tears streaming down his face. "I must have slept wrong." He cried and a series of pained 'ow's followed afterward. "I've been trying to hide it all morning..."

Sakura crossed her arms with an annoyed look on her face. "Well maybe you should think twice about sleeping on watch duty you jerk. A log isn't exactly a good bed you know."

Jiraiya ignored her. "I think we should take a break."

Sakura took off her survival pack and walked towards him. "Serves you right, now where does it hurt?" She asked. Her hands reached his back and started to glow a radiant green. "A little lower..."

Sai dropped his backpack as well and took out his painting materials, while Naruto planned on excusing himself from the others. "I'll be somewhere else." He said and turned to leave for a more secluded area where no one would invade his privacy...

After a few minutes of hopping around some trees, he decided he was far enough from the rest of the group. He let his knapsack fall on the enormous branch and he sat down with his back against the smooth bark of the tree. He grabbed his bag and opened it, then he rummaged through the contents until he found a plain looking scroll. He looked at the familiar text that addressed him and opened it to look at the drawing that was inscribed.

Every time he looked at it, no matter how many times he's seen it, a feeling of longing to be with Karin overtook him.

With the calming sound of birds chirping all throughout the forest, he found it easy to close his eyes and think about the girl that haunted his mind. By now he knew that he wanted to be with her in any way possible; telling Jiraiya his troubles had greatly lifted feelings of doubt off his chest.

He thought about when he would go back and made up countless scenarios of him and her together, including the possibility of her being released soon. If that were to happen, then all of his uncertainties would be reduced to zero. If that were to happen, then maybe, just maybe could Jiraiya be right about him being able to find love.

He grew embarrassed and tired from his thinking, and before he knew it the calm chirping of the birds and cool afternoon air soothed him into a slumber. His eyes stayed closed and his head drooped. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep atop the tree...

 **30 Minutes Later**

Jiraiya's healing session finished long ago, with his back ultimately feeling much better. The group was currently waiting for the blonde shinobi to return to them, but by now Sakura grew impatient and worrisome at his absence. So, she decided to voice her concern.

"Alright, what gives." Sakura thought aloud while looking in the direction Naruto had gone. "That idiot Naruto has been gone for so long now." She turned towards the two males who seemed to be ignoring her, with one painting a lion and another reading a smutty book. She made a worried face.

"He's fine I'm sure, probably on his way back now," Jiraiya replied and didn't bother to look up.

Sakura held the worried expression. "Shouldn't we go look for him? What if something's wrong?"

Jiraiya's attention was immediately grabbed and he mentally slapped himself. _"_ _Damn. She's right."_ Jiraiya thought. He had been so drawn to his book that he was willing to forget about him in order to read more. He grimaced at the thought of something else. _"Tsunade would kill me if something bad happened to the kid."_

With this in mind, Jiraiya closed his book and placed it on the ground, then proceeded to stand up. "You're right," he said. "We need to find him, after that we head out again." He walked near the edge of the giant branch where Sakura was. "I'll look in the trees" -he looked to Sakura- "both you and Sai look on the ground. Meet back here in 30 minutes whether you find him or not." And with that Jiraiya took off into the deep forest in the direction that Naruto went.

Sakura looked back to Sai, who had already managed to put all his drawing supplies away. "Come on, you heard him." She said sternly. Sai, as passive as ever, replied with a simple nod of his head...

Jiraiya managed to find a lead very easily when he first set out to find his target. Upon passing a tree, he noticed kunai slashes forming an 'x' dug into the bark: a common method for shinobi when they wanted to retrace their steps and not get lost within a given place.

With this knowledge, Jiraiya followed the marked trees. He did this for minutes on end, each one he came across making him more worried for his apprentice. He landed on a branch and found another marker. _"What if he came across rouge shinobi?"_ He thought worriedly while examining the slashes. He turned and leaped to another tree. _"What if he's been captured?"_ He searched and searched for another marker, leaping from branch to branch. He found none. _"What if he's long gone from here?"_ He jumped to another tree, finding a marker. _"What if Tsunade finds out?!"_ An image of him getting pulverized by Tsunade appeared in his mind. He leaped high to another tree branch. _"What if-"_

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sight. There in front of him was the boy he was searching for, fast asleep and passed out on the tree. Jiraiya let out a breath he didn't know was held, and a relieved expression coming across his features. "Or he could have fallen asleep, that works." He walked closer while sweet relief coursed through his body in knowing that his student was safe.

He was in arm's length of him now, so he bent down and poked him in the shoulder repeatedly. "Get up Naruto. Come on get up." He said while continuing his poking. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He looked down and seen that the blonde was holding something. "Time to..." He trailed off and his actions stopped.

In Naruto's hands lay the scroll that he had been reading privately, completely unraveled and waiting for the world to see.

Jiraiya felt a great eagerness overwhelm him; now was his chance to get to see what his student was trying to hide from the rest of the group. He looked at Naruto, finding that he was still asleep and breathing in and out steadily. He peaked over Naruto's shoulder and laid his eyes on the scroll.

Looking down upon it, the first thing that caught his eye was a greatly detailed black-ink drawing. It seemed to pop out of the page as if it were lifelike, rivaling the works of Sai himself. He immediately made out the features of Naruto, but failed to identify the girl that was hugging him. He figured the girl must have made it for him, since Naruto was a terrible artist.

Jiraiya wore an admiring look as he gazed at the painting, and the smile he displayed couldn't be contained. "Well would you like at that." He muttered to himself and was happy to see that Naruto managed to snag a girl for himself, regardless of her status. _"I knew that brat was hiding something."_

He glanced towards the pieces of writing and read some of the text, but after reading a couple of lines he eventually felt embarrassed and ashamed of himself when he realized that he was reading something very heartfelt and intruding on deeply private matters.

 _"Nosy bastard,"_ he mentally scolded himself. He grabbed the scroll from Naruto's limp hand. _"No wonder he's been trying to hide this from everyone, it's a confession from that girl."_

He rolled up the scroll and placed it back in the boy's hand. _"I should wake him up now."_ Jiraiya thought. He grabbed the sleeping male's shoulder and shook him hard, knowing he was a deep sleeper. A noise much like a grumble emanated from Naruto's sleeping figure, but he didn't come to, and so Jiraiya continued his shaking. "Jeez, wake up already!" He said louder while expressing his frustration by shaking him harder.

Naruto finally woke up and opened his eyes. "What?" He said in a sleepy, annoyed manner.

Jiraiya ceased his actions and took a step back while crossing his arms. "Get up, that's what. We thought something bad happened to you, yet you're here sleeping just fine!"

Naruto smiled; the situation sounded funny to him for some reason. "Oh." He said, still slightly under the effects of his sleep. "I was just-" He stopped when he realized that he was in the middle of looking at his scroll. He looked down panicked and seen that it was rolled up safely in his hand. Relief washed over him. _"Oh good."_ He thought. _"I must have closed it before I dozed off."_

Jiraiya felt bad knowing that he read the scroll, but nothing could be done now. A part of him was happy that he read it since he got to see a part of Naruto's life that he was hoping to see someday. _"Just wait till Tsunade hears about this."_ He thought. She would no doubt be interested to hear about the boy's little girlfriend.

Jiraiya shook himself free of these thoughts. He was brought back to reality and seen that Naruto had yet to move. "Now that you're awake," he said, "we need to get back with the group."

Naruto sighed, then he stretched out his arms and legs. He placed the scroll back in his knapsack and stood up while slinging it onto his shoulders, then he rubbed his eyes with his fists. "OK." He said. "Let's go." And so Jiraiya and Naruto made their way back to the tree where they had first stopped...

They made it back to their initial stop and were met with Sakura and Sai waiting on the tree branch. "There you are!" Sakura exclaimed in relief. "You left us worried sick about you! What happened?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well you see, things just sort of happened and well..." He trailed off and put his arm down. "Let's all just be glad I'm okay." Sakura's stern expression fell and she wore a smile in return. "Yeah." She replied. She was, after all, happy to see he was safe.

Jiraiya butted into their conversation. "Now that that's out of the way, we should really get moving again." He sighed. "It'll be about a week before we make it back to the village, and I'm sure all of you would much rather be at home right now. So the sooner we continue the journey the sooner we can get back home." Everyone agreed with him. They got their stuff together and soon they continued on the path to their home village, hoping to get back sooner than a week.

 **Elsewhere...**

Karin lay on her bed while hugging her pillow with the sheets drawn over her body, and didn't make a sound. Her form moved up and down slightly with every small breath she took, and her red hair was wild from all the tossing and turning she did last night.

She was staring at the metal wall beside her bed, her eyes were drooped and red from all the crying she did yesterday, including this morning. She looked vacant, as if she were a husk of a former self, but her mind was in full swing.

Ever since yesterday, her entire world fell apart. The sentencing she received was too hard to even comprehend at times, and it hurt her head to think that this will be the place where she would stay for a good portion of her life.

At times, she wondered if she had just experienced a bad dream, that maybe this was all just a horrible made-up joke. But alas, she knew that was way too good to be true.

So she lay there, on her simple bed, not sure of what to do with herself now or what to even make of her current situation. Her mind was haunted by the utter lack of a future she now had, and how she wouldn't get to see the light of day for decades. She thought of how she would never see any forests soon, nor get to eat any of her favorite foods. She thought of many things...

But the thought that plagued her mind the most was how much of a fool she was. The scroll she gave Naruto...

At the time, it seemed like a good idea to confess the way she did since he would have ample time to think about it, and she made her feelings known to him in hopes that she would one day be freed from her cell... But that hope was stomped on by her sentencing. He would surely disprove of her romantic advances once he knew of her enormous stay in prison, and their dreaded reunion will be awkward beyond belief. Thinking about this, she grew embarrassed at her choice of actions.

 _"Why would I tell him using a damn stupid scroll anyway? And a picture! What am I, 5?!"_ She buried her face inside the pillow she was holding, regret and embarrassment shading her cheeks a color that resembled her hair. "What was I thinking..." She thought openly, her raspy voice muffled by the worn out material.

Truly, she felt like the stupidest person in the world right now.

A sudden loud noise made Karin jump in surprise. Shortly afterward a sound much like something skidding across the floor made its way to her ears. She relaxed, knowing it was just one of the guards that delivered food through an opening in the metal door. She rose her head up and looked at the tray of food that skidded across the floor. It was in reaching length of the cell bars, just enough for her to grab it if she wanted to.

But she didn't. She lay her head back down on the bed, not in any mood whatsoever to eat. Her breakfast from this morning sat next to the newly arrived food, both trays going untouched.

 **A/N: Sorry I couldn't get that new chapter out, I've been busy doing other stuff...**

 **ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ Writer's block amirite. At least I made a better intro, so if you haven't read it then I highly encourage you to, as it provides detail to how Karin got captured and is overall MUCH better. Next chapter will (hopefully) come out soon.**


	16. Welcome Back

After traveling for about a week through the large forest, the group was finally on the trail back home. They walked on a long dirt road that was surrounded by trees and off in the distance they could see a tiny speck that they knew was the gates of the village.

Feelings of excitement and nervousness filled Naruto's being upon seeing it and he found himself growing impatient as they slowly yet surely crept closer to the distant village. He bit the inside of his lip in anxiousness, then he looked to his left where he saw the rest of his group strolling along. He thought ill of how incredibly slow they all were moving and began to ponder on telling them to speed things up, but then he realized how selfish that would seem. So he kept quiet and they continued to walk at a slow pace while Jiraiya and Sakura conversed about things that were mundane to him at this moment...

Shizune's muffled voice along with her light knockings came to the door of the Hokage's office.

"Tsunade sama, Jiraiya san and the others have returned!"

Tsunade's head jerked up from her cluttered desk upon hearing her assistant and she rubbed her eyes to battle the fatigue she felt from nearly falling asleep. She cleared her throat and voiced loudly for them to come in.

Shizune opened the door for the group and they all stepped into the office. The Hokage smirked upon seeing them enter the room and was just about to greet them when suddenly an all too familiar and annoying voice reached her ears.

"Hey granny! Hope you didn't miss us too much." Naruto said as the group walked up to her desk.

Sakura sighed and refrained herself from doing anything harmful to her teammate, but Tsunade fully accepted his insulting nickname. If she were being honest with herself, in his absence she actually sort of missed the boy and his name-calling.

Yeah not really. She still hated it, but for the sake of this being a good occasion, she chose to ignore him.

"Welcome back to the village you four. I see you're all in good health, which makes this mission's success all the more better." Tsunade said to the group.

Jiraiya spoke up. "So the Anbu made it back safely?" He asked full of hope.

"Of course they did, how else could they have brang back a jackpot of secret scrolls?"

He grinned at her. "That's a relief, I feared they might have been intercepted along the way."

"Yes, especially with something so critical as those scrolls. I'm surprised Orochimaru didn't bother to protect them better." She replied.

Jiraiya folded his arms. "Yeah, you'd think with something as important as forbidden knowledge and research, the fool would have hidden them or taken them with him when he left the hideout... Makes you wonder..."

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"The scrolls, has anyone analyzed them at all?"

"Yes, our scientists are looking at them as we speak. I'm expecting a report on their findings in a week or two depending on how fast they can get through the large amount, so when I hear from them I'll tell you about it."

"Good to hear, though I would examine them carefully. Who knows what those scrolls might contain?"

"I'm sure they're taking all the precautions they can."

This continued on for several minutes, with Tsunade, Jiraiya and even Sakura contributing to an ultimately boring conversation about the mission and other boring things. With all this talk about scrolls, Naruto found himself easily zoning out and thinking about the one that he had. His mind began to wander elsewhere, particularly to a cold cell where a red-haired girl was staying...

After surviving the excruciatingly long debriefing, the group parted ways and Naruto immediately went home to get himself ready for his next visit. He took a shower to make himself look presentable to the girl he was planning to see soon, then he quickly ate instant ramen to fend off his hunger. Shortly afterward, he left his apartment and made his way to the prison where he would confront his apparent admirer.

He traveled atop the roofs of buildings in order to avoid the stares that would inevitably come his way. He hopped from building to building until the prison came into his vision, then he dropped down from the rooftops and walked the rest of the way to the building's entrance.

Naruto pushed open the double doors to see a cleanly kept and relatively nice looking interior, then he walked in and went towards a buff chuunin who was guarding a single metal door. The guard, who had become used to his frequent visits, smirked in familiarity at the sight of him.

"He lives!" The muscular guard spoke in mock surprise. "You've been missing for so long yet visit so often, I thought you might have just started living down there!" He said loudly, then proceeded to let out a boisterous laugh.

Naruto smiled at the man's teasing and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Good to see you too Saburo." The blonde greeted him.

The many times that Naruto came to the prison seemed to spark a friendship between him and a few other guards he interacted with, and this happened to be just one of them.

The muscular man named Saburo smiled in return. "Oh I'm kidding, welcome back. I see you're all in one piece, so the journey went well I assume?" He asked while Naruto walked up to him.

"Yeah, it did! Some good and bad, but I'm just happy to be back." He said cheerfully.

"Good to hear." The muscular man replied with a smile. "Now let's get down to business." He said while stepping closer to the blonde. Naruto emptied his front pockets and brought out his ID card, then he reached into his back pocket and brought out the scroll. "These are all I've got on me." He said while showing off the items.

Saburo reached for the scroll, but it was pulled away from his grasp. "I can't let you see it," Naruto said in a secretive manner. "Can you just trust me this one time?"

The man closed his eyes and shook his head before looking at him again. "You know the rules, nothing goes through unless checked and approved."

Naruto cursed internally and a small blush appeared on his cheeks as he thought of whether to let this man read his scroll and uncover his top secret. He quickly decided against it.

"Forget it then," Naruto said. He placed the scroll in a bin that was on the floor near them both, and that was that.

Saburo nodded and then went up to him and patted him down, looking for anything the smaller male could have been hiding inside of his clothing. Finding nothing else, he knew like always that this particular person didn't have anything to hide anyway. If it wasn't for the prison's protocols, he would simply let him go through with no problems every time, since he figured this boy would never have any malicious intentions and was an overall good-natured person.

"M'kay, all set." The muscular man said. He turned around and faced the metal door behind him, then he firmly pressed his thumb against the seal that went against the door. It groaned and clicked as its gears turned, signifying that the door was unlocked. He then opened it fully for the boy to go through.

"Thanks," Naruto said in appreciation. He went through the doorway, then the muscular man closed the door after him and reassumed his position back on the wall. He may not have said it, but he was glad to see a friendly face again in a place that was so grim and serious.

He made it all the way down to the bottom of the stairwell and came across yet another round of security checks. He entered a small room where only one metal door stood in place along with 2 guards who stood beside it.

"Identification please." One guard said in a demanding voice. Naruto immediately brought out his card and handed it to them. The guard took it and analyzed it closely before handing it back to him, then he looked to his partner and nodded once at him. The guard beside him placed his thumb on the seal's door and unlocked it, and shortly afterward he was walking his way through the labyrinth that was the prison...

His stomach was filled with butterflies as he rounded the corner and came across the hallway where he knew Karin was situated in. He walked down the hallway and looked across the numerous metal doors that went alongside the walls to distract the growing nervousness that he felt inside of him. He saw her door coming up as he continued to walk, then out of nowhere someone poofed into existence. It was the black-haired jounin who always opened the door for him. She smirked at seeing him, which made the blonde smile back.

"Hi," he said in hopes that she would at least say something back, but was dismayed to see that she simply ignored him. She unlocked the door and it made a bunch of noises like it always did, then she opened it for him and looked at him expectantly to go in. He exhaled and took the hint and walked into the room. The jounin closed the metal door and it automatically locked in place, then she peered through the hidden opening on the wall.

The first thing that hit him upon entering the room was the smell. A foul odor met his nose and assaulted him with something rotten and pungent that completely caught him off guard and almost made him gag at first when he took a whiff of it.

The second thing he noticed was the sight that lay before him. Old food was scattered across the room and began to grow mold from all the time that it was exposed to air.

 _"What the hell?"_ He wondered mentally. It confused him greatly to see the cell in such disarray, and he was filled with many questions as to how it could have ever gotten like this. NEVER before had the cell looked this disgusting, not even close. The unexpected sight even made him forget about the nervousness he felt just seconds ago.

He walked closer to the cell and he found himself stepping over rotten old food that was obviously left out for a number of weeks. "What the hell's going on here?" He thought aloud as he arrived at the metal bars. He furrowed his brows and looked into the cell and could see Karin's form moving up and down slightly under the sheet that was drawn over her body. She was lying on her bed and looked to be sleeping, so he decided to wake her up and get the answers he seriously needed right now...

 **A/N: I'm really sorry for the lack of updates. I can only put my faith in not being so lazy anymore to fend off the writer's block. Next chapter will come this week, not sure when though. They finally get to meet next chapter so let's hope that goes well right? Anyway a slight change of fashion here, I have received numerous questions regarding my story and certain... elements about it, and I have answered some of them on my profile. If interested, they will be there. Well that's it for now, so until next time friends.**


	17. The Dreaded Reunion

Her eyes opened slowly as she woke up from the loud creaking of the metal door being opened. A blurry cell came into view and through her tiredness she wondered why someone was in here: maybe a guard was going to restock something, or maybe clean up some of the filth that accumulated in the room.

In either event, it didn't matter to her. Karin exhaled softly through her nose and closed her eyes with intentions of falling asleep again. As boring as it may be, sleep was her only hope of getting through the unbearably lonely days that she spent in her cell.

Footsteps were faintly heard as someone walked into the room, and shortly afterward the metal door closed and locked into place loudly. She heard the person walk closer and eventually reach the cell bars, but she paid them little attention and ignored their presence; she was already drifting off to sleep and embracing the dark abyss that came with it.

"What the hell's going on here?"

Her eyes shot open and went wide as soon as she heard the person speak.

It was a voice she was all too familiar with, one she could never forget. She knew exactly who it belonged to and it could only mean one thing…

Naruto was back.

The realization made butterflies instantly spring loose in her stomach and an explosion of dread fill her senses at the realization of his unexpected return.

 _"Oh no,"_ Karin thought dreadfully under her thin blanket. She gripped the sheet close to her chest and she tightly closed her eyes in anxiousness. _"Please... just go away..."_

"I know you're awake Karin... And what's with all this food?" She heard his voice again. "You shouldn't be skipping meals y'know."

Tears gathered in her shut eyes as she desperately wanted to run away and hide from him. She curled up into a fetal position and the tears she was holding back managed to slip out easily despite her best efforts. Her breathing became more rapid and she found herself biting her lip in an attempt to not let her whimpers be heard. Her body shook with every rapid and irregular intake of breath, and her attempts to stifle her crying was in vain as she started to audibly sniffle...

Naruto heard her sniffling and immediately recognized it as crying. He grabbed the cell bars and peered into the cell, where he looked at her curled up form in confusement and concern.

"Karin?" He called to her.

Her sniffles quickly turned into hiccups and her tears fell faster until she was seeing nothing but a blurred and distorted mess.

 _"I have to tell him,"_ she thought miserably through her sadness and tears, then she begrudgingly started to move and push herself up into a sitting position on the bed, where she stayed for a brief moment to ponder just what she would say to him.

Naruto watched as she crawled her way to the edge of the bed and then shakily got on her feet. She proceeded to slowly walk towards him while her head was lowered to the floor; her frizzy hair obscured any chance he got at seeing her face, but he noticed that her glasses were nowhere to be seen.

Her crying never ceased even as she made it to him, and she continued to bow her head in self-induced shame while she wiped away her tears.

"Karin..." Naruto said sadly as he visibly worried for the red-haired girl. He reached through the cell bars and held one of her hands that was desperately trying to wipe away tears.

"Look at me." He pleaded as he gently squeezed her hand. It saddened him greatly to see her in such a state of distress, and it bugged him knowing that something was bothering her this much.

Karin sniffled and cried as she continued to wipe her never-ending tears, yet his simple gesture warmed her heart and soothed her a great deal. She tried her best to calm down and face him, but it was a task proving to be increasingly hard when she knew of what needed to be done. She knew that he would have to hear of her grim fate, that he had every right to hear about her sentencing, so she gathered up all of her courage and braced herself for the moment that was very soon to come.

After some time she eventually managed to swallow down her saddened cries, then she grabbed his hand and held onto it with both of hers. Her body trembled as she squeezed his hand for badly needed comfort, and it took all the courage she had, but slowly she raised her head up until she saw him for the first time in weeks.

It was a warm welcome to see her again after so long, however the first thing Naruto noticed was the obvious grime that adorned her face. Her tears seemed to have washed away some of it, because spots of cleaner looking skin were left to be observed. As he continued to look at her he noticed another obvious difference: her eyes held a pain and despair he wasn't anticipating to see; now he knew something really heavy seemed to burden the girl.

They both wordlessly stared at each other, until Naruto decided to speak his mind.

"What happened Karin?" He said in a slight whisper. "Please... It hurts me to see you like this."

Karin felt herself grow shy at his admission and as they stared at each other, but she forced herself to look him straight in his caring blue eyes.

 _"I have to tell him!"_ She reminded herself, but her lips wouldn't budge. She was utterly terrified of how he'd react with the knowledge of her sentencing, but she knew that this was something needing to be done.

She opened her mouth, yet nothing came out. She tried to speak, but only a whimper was made. She squeezed his hand harder, so much so she saw him flinch from the sudden pressure being placed on his hand. "I-" She sniffled. "I... I-I...I..."

Her walls came crashing down suddenly as she spoke, and all her attempts to stifle her sorrow was in vain as she started to voice her despair once again and tears became rampant. She let go of his hand and lowered her head, then she covered her face with her hands so he wouldn't see how ugly and distorted it became.

"Will you stop it?!" Naruto raised his voice in exasperation. "Karin, just tell me already! What's wrong?"

She struggled to find her voice with all the gasps and snivels in the way, but after a while she managed to finally say something to him.

"Oh Naruto!" She cried in absolute sadness. "Something terrible's happened!"

His eyebrows furrowed, and now more than ever was he confused as to what was causing her to be like this.

"What do you mean?" He asked, however he was met with nothing but loud sobbing from the girl in front him, which made him increasingly worried. "Tell me what's wrong." He said demandingly as his chest and throat became tighter and tighter.

Karin shook her head in denial. "I can't!" She exclaimed.

"What do you mean you can't?" He asked confused.

She shook her head again and nearly choked on her sobs. "I can't!" She wailed again. "I just can't!"

He felt tears stinging his eyes as he reached into the cell and grabbed her wrists. He forcefully raised them above her head, an action that made the red-haired girl squirm and pull away from him, but he kept his grip on her.

"Karin, _enough_!" He raised his voice at her. "Tell me, right now, why in the world are you crying? What the hell is going on?!"

The girl ceased her struggling against him. She sniffled and erratically gasped as she became weak in his hands. A moment passed by as she thought back to the hearing, the moment that turned her life upside down. The judge's words echoed through her head.

"40 years."

Over and over again his words repeated in her mind, and every time it felt like a blade was slowly sinking into her chest. The pain was unbearable, much too terrible for her. So she decided this sorrow couldn't be kept for just one person.

Her mouth opened, and finally she was able to speak the words that have been haunting her to no end.

"40 years." A croaky voice managed to squeak out.

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. 40 years? What was that supposed to mean?

He repeated her words in his mind, then he did it again and again. For the life of him, he couldn't stop the growing, sick feeling of dread that slowly began to fill his being.

 _"No way. 40 years can mean anything."_ He tried convincing himself. _"40 years can be anything... Anything but that."_

His mouth became dry as he stared at the girl in front of him, and suddenly it all came together; The crying, hysterical girl, the messy room with food disregarded and left to rot, the sorrow and pain he saw in her eyes...

What she meant when she said 40 years.

His stomach became a bundle of twisted knots and he felt tears starting to gather in his eyes. He breathed in deeply before asking her the question he sort of already knew the answer to.

He lowered her hands but still held onto them. "Karin..." He paused for a moment and swallowed down his fear. "40 years..." His grip on her wrists tightened. "Don't tell me-" he swallowed again "-don't tell me that's..."

They looked at each other, both knowing of her grim fate. She could see that his face held a noticeable fear, and his eyes were welled up with tears. It hurt a great deal to see him pained like this, but it wouldn't matter soon anyway. She had an unbearably sad prediction that he will leave her soon enough.

More tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at him, and the thought of losing him became unbearable, but what could she do now? Play it off? They both knew what was going on, and she already said it. There was no going back now.

She coughed away the tightening feeling in her throat, then she whimpered at the pain from her sore throat. Her bottom lip trembled, then she decided to let it all out. "I-I... I went to a hearing, a-and... And then the judge, he... He..." Her choked up voice faltered, and she could feel a dam breaking inside of her. "He..."

Her walls cracked and crumbled once more, and everything came rushing out at once. Her sobs filled the room once again and her tears ran like rivers. "That old bastard!" She wailed. "That old, _fucking_ bastard! He did this to me!"

Naruto took this in and let go of her hands. They went limp against his sides as his fears were confirmed.

"And-" she gasped convulsively "-and now, I have to stay in this room for 40 YEARS!" She screamed the last part at the top of her lungs.

The tears he held back came falling from his eyes while his entire body felt like it was turning inside out. He watched as Karin fell to the concrete floor and continued to cry her eyes out while letting out pained and unflattering screams.

He simply stared at the collapsed girl, and it surprised him yet saddened him greatly when he found himself wondering if he should just leave her here and forget about her.

Forget he ever met her, forget about the scroll and what they could've had together. Forget about Everything.

 **A/N: Excuse my absence please, but I have more important things to do than writing. If you genuinely like the story then thank you very much, I know im not the best of writers but it means a lot that people actually want to read my stuff. And don't worry, I don't plan on abandoning the story, It's just that my job and school get in the way A LOT. Sorry for the lack of updates. Next chapter will hopefully come soon. Happy new year!**


	18. Stay

"Don't leave me!"

He was so lost in his thoughts that he flinched at the sudden and loud outburst. He looked at the hysterical girl and seen her kneeling on both knees and clinging desperately onto the sleeve of his black and orange jacket

"Please! Please, _Please_..." She begged breathlessly while tugging roughly on the fabric. "Please don't leave me!"

Naruto felt more tears coming to his eyes as he felt nothing but sadness for the girl in front of him. He never thought something this terrible would completely ruin their chances together, but now that he knew of her grim fate he cursed himself for how much of an idiot he was.

 _"What the hell was I thinking?"_ He pondered to himself while worriedly looking at the sleeve Karin had a grip on, which was being pulled so hard that he feared the stitching would soon tear out.

"I don't wanna be alone!" She wailed as her hold on him tightened. She looked up at him and through her blurred-out vision she saw his tear-filled eyes were unwilling to meet hers. Not only that, but the look on his face said everything: he was obviously conflicted on what he should say or do next. Noticing this she knew she needed to say something or else he might just leave her forever.

Karin let go of Naruto's sleeve and quickly grabbed and held his hand with both of her own, then she let anything and everything out of her mouth to change his mind.

"I know you may see me as a burden, but please look inside of yourself and see me differently... A-and, I... I know you might not think it, but Naruto I swear that if you stay it'll be worth your while! We can go back to how things have always been!"

Memories of the time they spent together bombarded her mind, from pointless arguments to ones of genuine laughter from their shared stories. She remembered the time he was mad at one of his friends for stealing his ramen vouchers, and the time she got so embarrassed when he said her hair looked nice. Every moment that was spent with him was cherished more than any other and to think that he could vanish from her world was an unbearably awful thought.

"Forget about the sentencing, forget about everything you want, just please don't forget me. Remember when we first met? I used to hate you. Now... Now you're my best and only friend and-and I don't ever want you to go." Her voice cracked and she tried her best to hold back the new wave of tears. "And if you need a break from me I understand, you don't even have to come every day anymore! You can come whenever you want, any day any hour, I don't mind, just please I'm begging you don't leave!"

Naruto stood there motionless while she continued her desperate cries. She was in the worst shape he had ever seen her and any sense of dignity was forgotten or foreign to her at this moment. The news about her new life evidently hurt her the most, but he too was screwed over by her sentencing and felt completely cheated by fate.

It was as if the world was out to get him; nothing ever went his way no matter how hard he tried. And now, despite his efforts, the girl he was so close to having a chance with was now gone from his reach. It frustrated and angered him more and more as he thought of this, and soon enough an all too familiar feeling slowly grew in his chest and started to replace the sorrow he felt. A bitter, fiery, sinister hatred clawed away at him and started to cloud his mind.

Wicked thoughts of vengeance ran in and out of his head and everything started to burn around him. He knew exactly what was happening: he managed to tap into Kyuubi's rage with his emotions being fired up. He immediately tried to calm himself down but knew that the demon inside of him would be persistent in trying to take him over. He brought himself back to reality and seen that Karin had let go of him and was looking at him in a surprised way. She must have felt the foreign activity through their touch, he reasoned. She was a sensory type after all.

Karin managed to stop her crying shortly after experiencing the terrible feeling. It was hard to explain exactly what she felt, but she knew it was something evil that could have only come from the beast inside of the boy.

She watched him as he backed away from her and the metal bars, stepping over rotting food in the process. She was still in slight shock from what she felt a moment ago, but then she realized what he was doing. Panic jolted her out of her stupor and she called out to him.

"W-wait."

No answer.

"Wait, please I-"

"I have to go." He said in a serious tone as he looked her in the eyes, where he saw them widen at his words. He backed up far enough that his back hit the large metal door. He knocked twice on it while still facing her and eventually it made various creaks and groans.

"I'll come back, okay?" He said right before the large door was unlocked.

Her heart dropped and her face visibly saddened. It almost sounded like he didn't want to come back at all.

He turned around and pushed the door open further where he was greeted by the jounin that usually kept watch. He looked back at Karin and seen her looking downcast at the floor. The scene hurt him more than he wanted to admit at the moment, but anger was getting the better part of him and right now he was pissed by something else that he saw.

Naruto exited the room, then the jounin closed the metal door and locked it afterward. The girl turned around and was surprised to see an angered young boy looking at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you idiots? Do you not see how much filth is in that room?" He asked angrily.

The jounin didn't say a word, she only looked at him strangely as if she had no clue what he was talking about. This only angered him more, but he decided not to dwell on the matter right now. He knew he needed to get home and calm himself down before he did something stupid again, so he exited the facility and hurried home while his mind was kept occupied by how terrible the day turned out to be.

 **Back In The Cell...**

She wiped her persistent tears with the sleeve of her black jumpsuit. She was hoping they would've been able to talk everything through in a more reasonable manner but her emotions got in the way of everything, despite how hard she tried to keep them in check. Even before their encounter, she tried so hard to make sure she didn't make a fool of herself; she even imagined different scenarios of how their encounter might play out and thought of many things that she could say or do to convince him to not abandon her. However, none of it seemed to help at all in the end and she felt as if she blew everything.

Karin rose up from her position on the floor and walked tiredly to her bed. All the crying drained most of her energy and all she wanted to do right now was go back to sleep. She lied down on the bed and grabbed her pillow, hugging it tightly against her chest. She wiped her face against it and sniffled sadly to herself while struggling to keep her tears at bay.

 _"He said he'll come back,"_ she thought back to his last departing words. _"But when?"_ She started to grow anxious thinking of when she'll see him again, or if she ever will. The fear of him leaving her for good was a scary possibility and now she could only hope he wouldn't do such a cruel thing, but at the same time there lay underlying feelings of nervousness and loathing for their next meeting. After all, the elephant in the room hasn't been brought up yet by either of them.

She cringed at remembering her scroll, but then she quickly and forcefully made herself forget about it. Instead, she recalled the visit that just transpired and wondered what wrongs she could have made, and after some thought, it registered in her head that she made herself look desperate and clingy.

 _"Well, what else can I do? I have no other choice but to beg..."_ She thought in sadness. She reached over the edge of the bed and grabbed the blanket that fell on the floor, then she covered herself with it and hugged her pillow closely. She chose to sleep the rest of the horrible day away and found herself quickly dosing off. It seemed as if her energy left with all the tears she shed.

 **A/N: woohoo the chapter is finally out. what's that, it took me 4 months to update? uh yeah i was doing important stuff i swear ;-;**


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